Maccabi Tel Aviv goes for its third straight Euroleague championship this weekend, with CSKA Moscow making a record fourth consecutive appearance in the Final Four tournament.
Five-time champion Maccabi played yesterday's first semifinal against Spain's Tau Ceramica in a rematch of last year's final. Winterthur Barcelona faces CSKA Moscow in the other semifinal at Prague's Sazka Arena.
The winners meet tomorrow before an expected 20,000 sellout.
Maccabi could become just the third club to win three straight European titles, joining Jugoplastika Split (1989-1991) and ASK Riga (1958-1960).
Pini Gershon, who also coached Maccabi to the 2001 title, could match Riga's Alexander Gomelsky as the only coaches to win three consecutive championships.
"Anything can happen," Gershon said. "It's not easy, even for a team with experience like ours. We know what the situation is like."
Gershon has kept a core of five key players over the past three seasons -- Nikola Vujcic, Anthony Parker, Maceo Baston, Derrick Sharp and Tal Burnstein.
Tau relies on two key Argentine players -- power forward Luis Scola and point guard Pablo Prigioni -- and Brazilian center Tiago Splitter.
Tau has had two coaches this season, with Velimir Perasovic replacing Pedro Martinez at midseason.
"Most of us, almost all of us, had never played in a Final Four until last year," Prigioni said. "Maybe the anxiety and lack of experience caught up with us in the final. The anxiety hurt us last year, and we have to try not to let that happen this time."
CSKA Moscow has won four titles in 1961, 1963, 1969 and 1971. Barcelona won the 2003 title after losing in five previous finals.
"Everybody kind of expects the trophy now after waiting such a long time, and that adds a little pressure," said Moscow forward Matjaz Smodis, who has helped anchor the team since it lost starting power forward David Andersen midway through the season.
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