Final Four news: Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Final Four news: FC Barcelona

Final Four news: Real Madrid

Final Four news: Olympiacos Piraeus

The Top 10 photos of the week: Adrien Moerman of Anadolu Efes Istanbul sticks his tongue out as he dunks against Milan.

The Top 10 photos of the week: Vladimir Lucic of FC Bayern Munich drives past Barcelona's Rokas Jokubaitis. 

The Top 10 photos of the week: Guerschon Yabusele of Real Madrid dunks in Tel Aviv. 

The Top 10 photos of the week: Paris Lee of AS Monaco keeps the ball away from Olympiacos's Thomas Walkup.

The Top 10 photos of the week: Ognjen Jaramaz of FC Bayern Munich tries to shoot under pressure from Barcelona's Dante Exum and Brandon Davies.

The Top 10 photos of the week: Vincent Poirier helps Real Madrid complete a sweep of Maccabi with this Game 3 dunk.

The Top 10 photos of the week: Shane Larkin of Anadolu Efes Istanbul splits the defense against Milan.

The Top 10 photos of the week: Will Thomas of AS Monaco emotes after dunking against Olympiacos. 

The Top 10 photos of the week: Tyler Dorsey of Olympiacos Piraeus drives to the basket in Monaco.

The Top 10 photos of the week: Nigel Hayes-Davis of FC Barcelona defends against Bayern's Ognjen Jaramaz. 

AWARDS

ANGT Finals news

Tibor Pleiss cycled through five different Turkish Airlines EuroLeague clubs, never more than two seasons in any of them, before landing with Anadolu Efes Istanbul in 2018.

Having stayed in Istanbul with Efes for four seasons since, he is now a two-time champion whose role in the newest title was huge.

After winning the EuroLeague last year in his hometown of Cologne with some key baskets in the championship game, on Saturday in Belgrade, his contribution was as big as they get as Efes slowly turned around the scoreboard to defeat Real Madrid 57-58 and claim back-to-back titles.

Championship Game post-game quotes: Tibor Pleiss, Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Looking for all the world like Mr. Nice Guy, the tallest player on Efes turned into a killer in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game on Saturday.

Pleiss's killer instinct turned Efes around after halftime

Real Madrid v Anadolu Efes Istanbul (2022-05-21T17:00:00.000Z)

Tibor Pleiss 5- Anadolu Efes Istanbul - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - E21-FFF

Real Madrid has been the best rebounding team in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, but Anadolu Efes Istanbul survived early dominance by Los Blancos on the glass before doing the damage of its own that helped Efes edge its way to a 57-58 championship game win.

It took a team effort for Efes to win the battle on the glass

Before the championship game, Efes guard Shane Larkin spoke about one key to the game: "I think it is going to be big for us to get the rebounds," Larkin pointed out. "It will take all of us, a team effort to get the rebounds and focus on the defensive side of the ball."

Efes did not get off to a good start on the boards. Walter Tavares dominated with 6 offensive boards in the first quarter alone. He finished with 8 offensive rebounds for the game, tying the all-time single-game Final Four record for offensive rebounds.

However, Efes did not allow Real to keep that edge, and eventually won the battle on the boards. And just like Larkin predicted, it took a team effort.

Five different Efes players had 6 or more rebounds, led by Elijah Bryant's 8. Chris Singleton and Tibor Pleiss grabbed 7 apiece and Shane Larkin and Adrien Moerman each had 6.

When the final buzzer sounded, Efes outrebounded Real for the game 40-44 - and 8-13 in the fourth quarter alone. Real finished with 18 offensive rebounds, which was 1 shy of the Final Four record, but Efes had 5 of its 11 in the fourth quarter, including a tip-in from Pleiss with 1:05 to go to make it 55-58 and Efes held on to defend its EuroLeague crown.

Vasilije Micic - Anadolu Efes Istanbul champ Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21-FFF

### Ergin Ataman, Anadolu Efes Istanbul head coach

“I’m sorry for Real Madrid, they made a great game, but we knew how to manage the game, especially the last minutes because I have in the team star players who know how to play in that kind of situation. In the finals, strategy, especially offensive strategy, is not working well, you see that in all games in the Final Four. But great players can resolve situations. In the last quarter, all the team made a great defense, we really solved the problems for the offensive rebounds. We had a big problem until the third quarter with offensive rebounds, we gave away a lot of points, and then we found a way to win the game.

"Of course, we are deeply upset about the situation \[in Ukraine\]. I spoke about this on the first day that the war started. I was maybe the first and I think somebody cut my words on live TV. It’s unacceptable that it’s happening this century in Ukraine. I live in Turkey with Turkish people and we were all upset when we saw the honest people, children, old people, they died, alone, they disappeared. It’s unbelievable that this happened this century in Ukraine, in 2022. I’m very sorry also about my friends in the clubs in Russia who have nothing, only because of politics, bullshit politics. I hope that finally, humanity will beat this situation like we beat the Coronavirus. I’m optimistic that we can beat also this.

"Perfect game, perfect season \[for Tibor Pleiss\]. He gave us also this Final Four, as you know he played great in the last game against Milan in Istanbul. We believe in him and in our system he’s very important, because he has the mid-range shot, three-point shot, rebounding. In the last seconds, he followed the ball with Larkin and Micic on the penetrations and he was great. We gave him confidence. Last year he was injured and we gave the same confidence to Sertac Sanli, and we won. This season Sertac left the team, I talked to him. ‘Why do you go to the second team? Why not stay with the champion to take one more title?’ I don’t know what he thinks about now, but it doesn’t matter. In our system it’s very important, Pleiss made a good job during the season, also Bryant Dunston with his old age, he put great character every time. In the semifinal, he played much better and made a great job. It’s a team, everybody knows his role and Pleiss made his role very good.

“It’s an emotional situation right now, at the end of the season we will see. As you know in the last three or four years we changed very small things. Sanli left, we brought in Petrusev. This season Simon had a health problem, we put Elijah Bryant on the team but we didn’t cut anybody. Now at the end of the season, we will consider everything and make decisions. This team has made history for the club, the country, for European basketball. For now, I don’t have any idea what will happen in the summer, we will think afterward about this.

“You know my confidence. For me, my team is an NBA team. Okay, this season we didn’t play like an NBA team, but in the previous season and everybody knows about the season that was canceled we dominated, played great basketball. This season, so-so.

“Micic is only 27 years old, he will have more career, and I believe he will have a chance to improve his record, like me. Maybe I am not young like him but we will try. He’s a good character, he’s a power point guard, he has developed incredibly during these four seasons. This season he had some ups and downs, but at the most important time, he played great. He can play defense, make difficult shots, he has good penetrations. So what else from a point guard?!

“It’s nice to be an outsider. I’m an outsider coach because I’m coming from Turkey. Before, nobody from Turkey made these results. I enjoy this job, I am a different kind of person. I enjoy coaching, I enjoy press conferences, interviews. Sometimes I enjoy making complaints to EuroLeague and they punish me. I give them money, I am a sponsor to them, but now I will take my bonus for the championship so I enjoy my job. And if somebody considers me a good coach or not a good coach, or they say you have on your team Larkin and Micic, that’s okay, no problem.

“I don’t know \[about the NBA\]. Maybe it’s better to ask my son, you already know Junior Ataman. And now my family, my wife and two daughters. They already studied Miami. Maybe someone will call us and ask us, I don’t know, it’s not my decision.”

### Pablo Laso, Real Madrid head coach:

“Firstly, congratulations to Efes for the victory. It was a long season for all of us and I have to be proud of my players for the way they stuck together the whole year, until the last minute. Right now it’s a sad moment for all of us, we were so close, but that’s part of life, part of basketball. Congratulate Efes and try to pass this out of our head as fast as possible.

“We were 1 point down and it was a difficult thing to decide. It’s true that now, when you lose, the easy thing is that we should have fouled. But I thought that with the time remaining, more than 3 seconds, we could have defended and got the last possession. We didn’t get a clean rebound and we couldn’t attack. They played very smart that possession, they got a three, they missed it, but we couldn’t get a clean rebound. If you ask me now should we have fouled, we should have fouled. But I don’t know what would have happened.

“Obviously, I’m upset. The team has worked hard to reach this game, and I think we did a lot of things well. But we failed to break the game at any time with more offensive rhythm. The shooting percentages didn’t go with us. Against a team with the talent of Efes, if they score 58 points I think your defensive plan has worked very well. Offensively, when I look at the number of assists and the percentages, I don’t think that was too bad either. But saying all this doesn’t help, because we lost a final. Right now I don’t have much in my head to think of the game, because I’m upset to have lost the game.

“We were very competitive all season. We had better moments and worse moments, but we always worked hard and I congratulate the players for their season. There were 16 EuroLeague teams who didn’t take part in this game.

“I never considered us dead. We had problems and when you lose in sports, things always look bad, but I don’t see it that way. From tomorrow we can start to think more positively, but tonight we can only think that we were one shot from winning the title. A lot of the time in basketball, if you score baskets everything is easier. We had moments tonight when we played very good basketball, and I sincerely don’t think that we could have changed many things. When you lose, you can go crazy thinking about what you could do differently. But I don’t think that way, I value the work the guys did in the game. It hasn’t been easy but we did very well.

Gaby \[Deck\] is very important for us. From the first day, we knew we had a big player with us and every player has different talents. It would be stupid for us not to use that talent and that’s the hardest part for a coach – to get somebody on the team. For example, when a guy gets injured everybody says...ah, they lost this player. For a coach, the problem is not when he gets hurt but when he gets back on the team. So with Gaby, I have this feeling. We lost him, we got him back 10 months later. And when we built the team, he was not here. Probably the same situation with Randolph. That’s an adjustment you have to make as a coach, but I have a lot of respect for my players because they understood how important Gaby could be for our season.”

### Vasilije Micic, Anadolu Efes Istanbul:

“I just don’t think too much \[in clutch moments\]. I try to live in the moment. That’s something I like about advice from Coach Ataman because he understands what it means to play in the moment. And if you believe in that, it’s really difficult to stop. You can find a way sometimes, but in the course of 40 minutes, it’s difficult to predict what you’re going to do. I just try to check what is going on in the moment, and then whether it’s a drive or a shot, I try to make the best decisions. That’s all, just play spontaneous and with hard work behind the scenes. 

"All these shots I’m taking, I’ve already shot so many times in my life. Nothing surprises me. When you analyze it seems like we’re doing something special, but I would say more that we play in the moment, spontaneously, and believe in each other. I come into a game without a plan. It doesn’t mean I don’t respect a game plan, we have worked on a game plan for four years. But all the decisions I make in the moment, and that’s how you really put a defense in problems. If you have specific preparations, it’s easier to stop.”

Championship Game post-game press conference quotes

Ergin Ataman - Anadolu Efes Istanbul champ Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21-FFF

Vasilije Micic came through in the clutch in both games of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four to lead Anadolu Efes Istanbul to its second consecutive championship.

Micic repeats as Final Four MVP!

Micic was named 2021-22 Final Four MVP and joined a very short list of stars to win that trophy in consecutive seasons. He poured in a game-high 23 points with 4 three-pointers and had 2 rebounds and 2 assists in Efes’s hard fought 57-58 win over Real Madrid in the championship game. That came after he collected 15 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists in the 74-77 semifinal win over Olympiacos Piraeus, which he sealed with a last-second three-pointer to win it.

He became just the fourth player to win back-to-back Final Four MVPs joining Toni Kukoc in 1990 and 1991 with Jugoplastika Split, Dejan Bodiroga in 2002 with Panathinaikos Athens and 2003 with FC Barcelona and Vassilis Spanoulis with Olympiacos Piraeus in 2012 and 2013. It was Spanoulis who handed him the MVP Trophy in the post-game ceremony.

“Thank you every one for being in the gym. Thank you to all the fans who participated in the Final Four. Honestly, I am speechless because four years ago I played here and finished third and I came up short. And this time we won the title,” said Micic after the game, referring to taking third place at the 2018 Final Four with Zalgiris Kaunas in the same Stark Arena where he would celebrate back-to-back crowns with Efes in 2022.

“This one also feels amazing. Still, I’m speechless. These things for all my life will stay with me, forever. It will be a marker in my heart. Again, nothing without my teammates is possible. Four amazing years together, two titles, and this \[MVP\] title, but once again, a team title is more important.

“Tonight, everywhere will be very, very hot, everywhere in Belgrade. I’m going to take all my team together and we will celebrate like never before,” Micic, who spent half his childhood in Belgrade, added almost with a sly grin.

Vasilije Micic MVP - Anadolu Efes Istanbul champ Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21-FFF

Anadolu Efes Istanbul repeated as the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion with a 57-58 victory over Real Madrid with only five players scoring points.

Efes trio carries the load to take EuroLeague crown


Entering the championship game, Efes was the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague's top-scoring team over the past four seasons with 84.3 points per game. However, Efes won its second consecutive title by netting just 58 points, the lowest it scored in any EuroLeague game in that period. Of that total, Vasilije Micic, Tibor Pleiss and Shane Larkin combined to score 52.

Final Four MVP Micic shined with 23 points on 4-for-7 three-point shooting and Pleiss had 19 points while pulling down 7 rebounds. Larkin scored 10 together with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. The only other Efes scorers were Chris Singleton with 4 points and Bryant Dunston with 2.

Anadolu Efes Istanbul champ Final Four Belgrade 2022 5- EB21-FFF

Post-game quotes: championship game Madrid vs. Efes

### Ergin Ataman, Anadolu Efes Istanbul head coach

“I’m sorry for Real Madrid, they made a great game, but we knew how to manage the game, especially the last minutes because I have in the team star players who know how to play in that kind of situation. In the finals, strategy, especially offensive strategy, is not working well, you see that in all games in the Final Four. But great players can resolve situations. In the last quarter, all the team made a great defense, we really solved the problems for the offensive rebounds. We had a big problem until the third quarter with offensive rebounds, we gave away a lot of points, and then we found a way to win the game."

### Pablo Laso, Real Madrid head coach:

“Of course, I’m happy the way we played, congratulations to Efes for the win, it was a great final. Everybody fighting for every ball. We were missing some open shots that we didn’t score and missing those baskets at the end. On a do or die, probably on my mind is gonna be the last play: should we foul, shouldn’t we foul? We didn’t get the rebound. I think if we had got the rebound we could have had a last shot, but we couldn’t get a clean rebound…well, congratulations Efes, that’s it.”

### Tibor Pleiss, Anadolu Efes Istanbul center:

“It’s incredible. As a kid, I always looked up to the two teams that played the Final Four and now I’ve won it back to back, it’s incredible. I’m full of emotions, I’m tired, but I’m so happy it’s incredible, I have no words for it. This team worked so hard for the title, we had a lot of ups and downs this season and we ended up now with a title again, one year later, incredible. I have to tell you, I just realized after the game how many people are here because I was so focused the whole game. Actually, I’m just starting to enjoy it. I tried to give what I could do on the court, tried to help my team. I was open, took the shots, the balls went in, keep going and it worked out pretty well.”

### Vasilije Micic, Anadolu Efes Istanbul guard:

“First of all, thank you everybody for being in the gym, thank you all the fans who participated in this Final Four. I am honestly very speechless because four years ago I played here and I won third place and I was short. But this time we won the title, and I want to congratulate my teammates, congrats to Real Madrid for an amazing game and thank you once again.

“This \[MVP award\] feels amazing. It will stay forever with me, it will be marked on my heart until I play basketball and afterwards. Nothing is possible without my teammates – four amazing years together, two titles. The team result is more important. Everybody knows that tonight will be very hot all over Belgrade, I’m going to take all my team together and we’re going to celebrate like never before.”

### Bryant Dunston, Anadolu Efes Istanbul center:

"We are all on the same page, When the coach comes in, since the first day, he said we are the best team in Europe and we have to go out there and prove it. He challenges us the whole time and the guys step up. It really shows the character of our team, that the guys always in the moment that we need them, they step up. At halftime it was fine. At that moment we said, okay, we are playing bad but it's only a 5-point game, though. We continued playing, the shots were gonna follow eventually. We were lucky that that shots went down when we needed them to."

### Chris Singleton, Anadolu Efes Istanbul forward:

"I don't know if it's pressure, but you are in the championship game, you are in the Final Four. I mean, you just got to leave it all on the line. I think I said that Thursday, we are here to win, they are here to win, so just give it your all. It's the only thing that you can do. I just know I was fighting with Deck \[for a critical rebound in the final minute\] and I know he got down there. We were just battling. That's what I was trying to do. I wasn't making shots, nobody was making shots, but I knew I had a chance to get all of his rebounds. And thankfully, it came to me at the end. I said that the key to the game would be guarding the three-point line. I think we broke the Final Four record in our last game with 14 made - and I knew that they shoot a lot of threes, we shoot a lot of threes, so it's a lot of rebounds that could be happening. This is a big moment and only a couple of players got it going in the scoring column, but everybody participated doing this. It's only been three teams \[to win back-to-back titles since 2000\] and that's a great category to be in. I'm just happy to be part of this big group."

### James Anderson, Anadolu Efes Istanbul forward:

"No one was really making shots and it was all about small details. We were lucky to get away with the win. I think that fight more than anything \[made the difference\]. We were down early and gave up a lot of offensive rebounds. We didn't share the ball particularly well and we normally do. It was all about details. Rebounding, Elijah got some good rebounds in the end, Tibor hit some big shots, so that was pretty much the key. This is our second year in a back-to-back and made it three years in a row to the final and it could have been four with the COVID-19 season. It says a lot about our group of guys that we have and the effort that we put. Chris's rebound at the end was big. He went for a one-handed snatch over everybody and gave us another possession. That was one of the biggest plays of the night."

### Elijah Bryant, Anadolu Efes Istanbul guard:

"We missed some shots that could have made it different, but at the end of the day we managed to get some rebounds and make some stops and that's what wins games. Vasilije Micic is a big-time player and he played a great game. He is our best player and obviously many things went throughout him."

### Adrien Moerman, Anadolu Efes Istanbul forward: 

"Unbelievable! I can't describe it right now because this is a great moment. We will see tonight; it is going to be a big party and we will enjoy it together. This is great for us and great for the club. Four years ago, we were last in the championship and now, for the second time in a row, we are the best team in Europe. This is great for Turkish basketball. When we made some stops, the fans were pushing us. But they didn't just push us in the Final Four, they also did it in the playoffs and the regular season. This is for them! We played the last three finals and won two titles. This is unbelievable for us, for this group. We fought for four years together. We had some ups and downs this season, it was not an easy season for us and in the end, we forgot everything and won. And now, we have to win the Turkish League again!"

### Rodrigue Beaubois, Anadolu Efes Istanbul guard:

"It is amazing. We have a special group that was put together four years ago and what we have been able to do in those four years is just amazing. To have two EuroLeague championships, never done with this club before, is just amazing. Thank God for everything and I am just glad they believed in this group. I hope we are going to stay together as long as possible."

### Adam Hanga, Real Madrid forward:

"In this game, you must make your shots if you want to win and we didn't achieve that tonight, It's what it is. Right now ending second makes no difference, it feels like we had not qualified for the playoffs. It makes no difference to me. I don't have anything to say about the last plays, I want to watch them later."

### Guerschon Yabusele, Real Madrid forward:

"Everybody is asking me about the last possession, but you don't win or lose the game in the last possession. It's before that. So, congratulations to them. We missed our shots, it was a tough game, a close one, with two teams going out for each other.

"We had a pretty good season. Of course, I am disappointed about the result but we fell short. We will go home and get ready for the ACB. It was a great game to compete, there was a lot of competition today. It was a close game and we missed some shots but stayed in the game.... It was good \[to play in my first Final Four\]. I missed a lot of shots today and feel like every shot that I was taking, I felt like it was going in, it was a good feeling... but it's okay, you know? I am still young, I am learning. I am going home, move on and get better."

### Vincent Poirier, Real Madrid center:

"I am sad but at the same time, I am proud of the team. We competed in both games and this one, we lost it by one. I think we let it go because we conceded too many offensive rebounds and easy baskets. If we controlled that, it would not have been the same result. We lost, that's part of the game. We will come back stronger and we will see."

Here are the views of the protagonists after the title decider between Anadolu Efes Istanbul and Real Madrid

Post-game quotes: championship game Real vs. Efes

Anadolu Efes Istanbul made history by defending its crown from last season with a defensive-minded 57-58 victory over Real Madrid, the team with the most titles in competition history, 10. Efes becomes the first back-to-back EuroLeague champion since Olympiacos Piraeus in 2012 and 2013. The only other repeat winners since 1988 when the modern Final Four era began are Maccabi Tel Aviv (2004 and 2005) and Jugoplastika Split (1989, 1990, 1991).

Walter Tavares had a monster first quarter to get Real off on the right foot, but it soon settled into a cat-and-mouse battle with 10 lead changes and five ties going into the last 3 minutes, as his counterpart, Tibor Pleiss, scored 17 second-half points. A tip-in by Pleiss going into the final minute was good for a 55-58 lead as Real managed only a layup by Sergio Llull thereafter. Micic led Efes with 23 points, Pleiss added 19 and Shane Larkin 10. The rest of the Efes players had 6 points between them. Real's sole double-digit scorer was Tavares, who had 12 of his 14 points in the first quarter. Llull came next with 9 points.

No team was able to find offensive momentum in the early going, despite a display of high-pace basketball on both ends. Micic's single free throw was the only point that fell in the first 2 minutes. Adam Hanga broke the ice with a layup that was soon answered by an outside shot from Pleiss. Tavares then took over inside with consecutive buckets that pushed Real ahead, 6-4, but Micic replied from deep to tie it. Tavares kept rocking in the paint, providing 6 more points to build a 12-6 advantage for *Los Blancos*. Tavares added his 12th point to make it 15-8 entering the last minute, but Larkin revived Efes with a triple and a three-point play that brought Efes within 15-14 after 10 minutes. By then, Tavares had 5 offensive boards among his 7 total, both of which were single-quarter records in any Final Four game.

Micic beat Tavares off-the-dribble to give a 15-16 edge to Efes at the start of the second quarter. Jeffery Taylor hit a corner three to end *Los Blancos'* drought from behind the arc, but Chris Singleton found an easy dunk and Micic shined again driving to the basket to keep Efes in charge, 18-20. Real didn't tremble and soon recovered a 26-22 advantage behind a bucket by Sergio Llull and a powerful alley-oop slam by Vincent Poirier. Fabien Causeur followed with a contested layup and Anthony Randolph made things worse for Efes, 29-22, with a three-pointer. Larkin and Micic took over on the other end, combining for 7 points that shrunk the difference to just one possession, 31-29. The rally didn't go further, though, as a corner three-pointer by Randolph allowed Real to reach halftime ahead, 34-29.

Real widened the gap after the break to 37-29 thanks to a free throw by Tavares and layup by Alberto Abalde. Pleiss counterattacked under the board, but that was the only Efes field goal for the first 6 minutes of the third quarter. Even though Real also struggled on offense, too, Hanga sank  a long triple to make it 40-31 midway through the third quarter. The reigning champs found a solution in Pleiss, who first added free throws and then came up big from behind the arc to bring Efes within 40-36. Micic joined him with 2 more free throws that made it 40-38 and then added a layup later right after Yabusele scored inside as Real clung to a slim 42-40 advantage after 30 minutes.

Efes needed just 1 more minute to complete its rally through Micic, who drilled a contested three-pointer over Tavares for a 42-43 lead. Chris Singleton followed with a steal and a finish which extended it to 42-45 with 7 minutes remaining. Real held on thanks to the free-throw line, as Deck, Llull and Poirier combined for 5 points there that made it all square, 47-47. Pleiss's next basket was replied to with a timely triple by Lllull to return the lead to *Los Blancos*, 50-49. Pleiss took over again, turning back-to-back assists by Micic into a corner jumper and a monster alley-oop to turn the tables again, putting Efes up 50-53 with 3 minutes to go. Even though Deck showed up from deep to forge a new tie, Micic answered quickly from the same place as Efes stayed in front, 53-56, entering crunch time. Real found Tavares inside to draw a foul that was turned into a free throw and an offensive rebound that provided another point from the line to keep it tight, 55-56. Pleiss was again a key factor for his team, as he made up for Micic's missed layup with a decisive tip-in and a 55-58 advantage with 1:05 remaining. Llull got *Los Blancos* closer with an off-the-dribble layup on the next possession, 57-58, and still 0:44 to play. There were no more points in the game, though, as Real's fouls allowed Efes to consume the remaining time and confirm a historic victory.

The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague has its first back-to-back champion in nine years and just the fourth of the Final Four era after a showdown for the trophy on Saturday in Belgrade, Serbia, that did perfect justice to the spectacular season that came before it.

Efes does it again, 57-58, in a title-game thriller!

Shane Larkin - Anadolu Efes Istanbul champ Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21-FFF

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/ShaneLarkin_3?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ShaneLarkin_3</a> celebrating with the fans🙌🏻<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> <a href="https://t.co/M5p893DfSE">pic.twitter.com/M5p893DfSE</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1528101289732755456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd1VWcNrLaS/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd1VWcNrLaS/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd1VWcNrLaS/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Anadolu Efes Spor Kulübü (@anadoluefessk)</a></p></div></blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Great basketball on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> and one more time we showed why we are basketball country! 🇷🇸 Amazing weekend even on TV. Can&#39;t even imagine what it&#39;s like in person. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ProudSerbian?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ProudSerbian</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroLeague</a></p>&mdash; Danilo Andjusic (@Djusa33) <a href="https://twitter.com/Djusa33/status/1528098186409254913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Back to back.. you have to respect that!! Congrats to <a href="https://twitter.com/AnadoluEfesSK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AnadoluEfesSK</a> 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a></p>&mdash; Tornike Shengelia (@TokoShengelia23) <a href="https://twitter.com/TokoShengelia23/status/1528092656160620552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congratulations to <a href="https://twitter.com/AnadoluEfesSK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AnadoluEfesSK</a> and specially to my friend <a href="https://twitter.com/alper11yilmaz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@alper11yilmaz</a></p>&mdash; Jayson granger (@jaygranger11) <a href="https://twitter.com/jaygranger11/status/1528087866382884864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congratulations to my brother <a href="https://twitter.com/Elijah_Bryant3?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Elijah_Bryant3</a> for making history. NBA champ and Euroleague champ. Blessing.</p>&mdash; Othello hunter (@O_hunter5) <a href="https://twitter.com/O_hunter5/status/1528087601101606912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">“Here we are again, back-to-back. One of the best teams ever”<br><br>Hear out <a href="https://twitter.com/ShaneLarkin_3?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ShaneLarkin_3</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> <a href="https://t.co/wq1v0GITUN">pic.twitter.com/wq1v0GITUN</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1528092887510130689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Another outstanding season for Vasilije Micic 👏 <br><br>A back-to-back champion and a two time <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> MVP 🏆 🏆 <a href="https://t.co/1SJi4vZan0">pic.twitter.com/1SJi4vZan0</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1528088067264983043?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Back to Back🏆 is tough. <br>Much Respect 👏🏽<br>3 finals in 4 Years. Not easy to stay locked in and stay at the top . <br>Big Congrats!</p>&mdash; Kyle Hines (@SirHines) <a href="https://twitter.com/SirHines/status/1528091074815840256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/tv/Cd1K02poRbc/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/Cd1K02poRbc/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/Cd1K02poRbc/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Anadolu Efes Spor Kulübü (@anadoluefessk)</a></p></div></blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

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<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd1KzhbrdON/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd1KzhbrdON/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; 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overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd1KzhbrdON/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Anadolu Efes Spor Kulübü (@anadoluefessk)</a></p></div></blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

### Efes runs out the clock

After Llull’s tip-in made it 57-58 with 44.2 seconds remaining, Real never got the ball back. First Micic took off some time by drawing a foul from Yabusele. Then Larkin got the ball and drove to the basket and was fouled with 17.4 seconds remaining. Real opted to play defense and not foul, but Efes milked the clock and got the ball to Larkin who hoisted a three-pointer from the corner with about 4 seconds left. Even though he missed, there were too many hands for any Real player to grab a clean rebound and the clock ran out on Real’s season. Efes is the first back-to-back champion since Olympiacos in 2012 and 2013.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">⏱ Últimos 65 segundos de encuentro. Tiempo muerto. <br><br>▶️ <a href="https://twitter.com/RMBaloncesto?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RMBaloncesto</a> 55-58 <a href="https://twitter.com/AnadoluEfesSK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AnadoluEfesSK</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/APorLa11?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#APorLa11</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4Glory?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4Glory</a> <a href="https://t.co/SVfCglUaaM">pic.twitter.com/SVfCglUaaM</a></p>&mdash; Real Madrid Basket (@RMBaloncesto) <a href="https://twitter.com/RMBaloncesto/status/1528083877931229187?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### The little things

Sergio Llull goes 1 for 2 from the line. Real gets the offensive rebound and Tavares is fouled with a chance to tie it. However, he goes 1 for 2! At the other end, a monster offensive rebound by Singleton leads to a tip-in by Pleiss. The details may decide the championship and in the second-to-least minute, more details worked out in Efes’s favor.

### It all comes down to this!

After a triple by Deck, the score is tied at 53-53 with 2-plus minutes remaining. The while season, the 2022 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague championship, will be decided here in the closing minutes. It’s all the drama we could have asked for!

### Pleiss standing tall

Whenever the Real defense takes its eyes off Pleiss, the Efes guards make sure to find him. The Efes center took a pass from Micic to sink a go-ahead baseline jumper that made it 50-51 and then the same connection resulted in an alley-oop slam. Pleiss is someone to watch here down the stretch.

### Efes has the lead in the stands

It wasn’t clear during the player introductions or even early in the game, but now that Efes has rallied to take the lead, the pockets of Efes fans around Stark Arena can be easily seen an heard. There was a roar on the go-ahead Micic three and Singleton’s steal and dunk brought them to their feet!

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/C_SING31?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@C_SING31</a> getting the crowd HYPED with the steal and slam! <br><br>F4GLORY I <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/7DAYSMagicMoment?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#7DAYSMagicMoment</a> <a href="https://t.co/bKFu3rcgym">pic.twitter.com/bKFu3rcgym</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1528081095388024833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="tr" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroLeague?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroLeague</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FinalFour?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FinalFour</a> Final <br>Real Madrid 42 - 40 Anadolu Efes | 3. Çeyrek Sonucu<br> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NewQuest?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NewQuest</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BenimYerimBuras%C4%B1?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BenimYerimBurası</a> <a href="https://t.co/4cBPEKFAGl">pic.twitter.com/4cBPEKFAGl</a></p>&mdash; Anadolu Efes SK (@AnadoluEfesSK) <a href="https://twitter.com/AnadoluEfesSK/status/1528078047668322306?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### Pleiss, Micic rally Efes

Tibor Pleiss and Micic scored all the points for Efes in a 2-9 run to get within 2. Ataman sent Micic to the bench to rest with 1 minute left in the half. After some pushing between James Anderson and Poirier, which the referees reviewed on the monitor and awarded double technical fouls, Micic had an extended rest. Larkin had a chance to tie it, but missed 2 free throws and the third quarter finished 42-40 for Real.

### Tavares ties offensive rebound record

There will be more on this later here on the EuroLeague’s official website, but with his 8th offensive rebound, Tavares has tied the record for offensive boards in the championship game during the Final Four era. He joins Ken Barlow of Maccabi Tel Aviv and Dragan Tarlac of Olympiacos Piraeus for the record. Barlow set the record against Milan in 1988 and Tarlac matched him against Barcelona in 1997.

### Hanga gives Real biggest lead yet

Hanga buried a deep three that gave Real the game’s biggest lead so far, 40-31. Llull, who assisted on that triple, missed a leaner that could have made it a double-digit lead. That prompted a timeout in which Coach Ataman will try to recharge his trope with only 15 minutes left in the season.

### To start the second half

Real sends out Abalde, Hanga, Causeur, Yabusele and Tavares. Efes counters with Larkin, Micic, Elijah Bryant, Singleton and Bryant Dunston.  

### First-half numbers that matter

Real Madrid has delivered 9 assists and committed just 1 turnover. Seven players from Madrid have dished at least 1 assist. Efes has just 2 assists and 4 turnovers. Real is getting plenty of contributions off the bench and Efes… not so much. Real’s reserves have scored 56% of their points and Efes’s just 14%. Between its turnovers and 8 offensive rebounds, Real has attempted 7 more shots than Efes, so even though both teams are shooting 50% on twos and Efes is shooting slightly better on threes and free throws, Real holds the lead.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="tr" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroLeague?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroLeague</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FinalFour?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FinalFour</a> Final <br>Real Madrid 34 - 29 Anadolu Efes | İlk Yarı Sonucu<br> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NewQuest?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NewQuest</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BenimYerimBuras%C4%B1?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BenimYerimBurası</a> <a href="https://t.co/fqaOzH4Atb">pic.twitter.com/fqaOzH4Atb</a></p>&mdash; Anadolu Efes SK (@AnadoluEfesSK) <a href="https://twitter.com/AnadoluEfesSK/status/1528067808575332353?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### Efes guards come through

Just like Real leaned on its strength in the frontcourt to jump in front, Efes has stayed close behind its prolific backcourt. Larkin has taken on multiple defenders and finished around others for two spectacular layups and Micic drained a three-pointer to get Efes within 2. A triple by Randolph gave Real a bit more breathing room at the break.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/ShaneLarkin_3?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ShaneLarkin_3</a> gets the tuff layup😳<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/7DAYSMagicMoment?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#7DAYSMagicMoment</a> i <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> <a href="https://t.co/cQXysqTvq7">pic.twitter.com/cQXysqTvq7</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1528068434973499392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### Important minutes for Real

Los Blancos’ entire lineup early in the second quarter consists of players off the bench: Llull, Causeur, Rudy Fernandez, Randolph and Poirier. If Real can withstand the pressure, it can finish the half with all of its starters fresh. Efes has played with at least two starters on the floor at all times so far.  

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">⏸ Final del 1⃣er cuarto. <br><br>▶️ <a href="https://twitter.com/RMBaloncesto?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RMBaloncesto</a> 15-14 <a href="https://twitter.com/AnadoluEfesSK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AnadoluEfesSK</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/APorLa11?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#APorLa11</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> <a href="https://t.co/N8w10xUnWq">pic.twitter.com/N8w10xUnWq</a></p>&mdash; Real Madrid Basket (@RMBaloncesto) <a href="https://twitter.com/RMBaloncesto/status/1528062829814861824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### Tavares sits with 2 fouls

Tavares fouled Shane Larkin on a layup, leading to a three-point play that brought Efes within 15-14 at the end of the quarter. Foul trouble was just what Efes was hoping for and now Real will hope that Vincent Poirier can match his prowess because the outside shots are not falling for Los Blancos, which is 0 for 8 from deep. Larkin and Micic have each made threes for Efes.

### Efes needs an answer for Tavares

The Real Madrid All-EuroLeague center scored 10 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in the first 7 and a half minutes alone! Five of those rebounds were on the offensive glass. Efes must find an answer for Tavares who is playing like a man possessed. To try and change things, Coach Ataman has sent Bryant Dunston and Chris Singleton in.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">🦾 ¡Imparable <a href="https://twitter.com/waltertavares22?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@waltertavares22</a>!<br><br> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/APorLa11?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#APorLa11</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> <a href="https://t.co/TyD6a5mczP">pic.twitter.com/TyD6a5mczP</a></p>&mdash; Real Madrid Basket (@RMBaloncesto) <a href="https://twitter.com/RMBaloncesto/status/1528063169041678339?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### What we learned from the opening minutes

The nerves or the championship game showed as neither team made a basket in the first 2 minutes – the first points came from a single Micic free throw at 8:12. What we can see early is that Real is using Abalde as its primary playmaker and Hanga is in a secondary role. On defense, Yabusele has picked up Micic at halfcourt on a few possessions, too.

### Here are tonight’s starting lineups

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="tr" dir="ltr">Real Madrid karşısında ilk 5️⃣:<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NewQuest?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NewQuest</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BenimYerimBuras%C4%B1?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BenimYerimBurası</a> <a href="https://t.co/jcM47nvwvY">pic.twitter.com/jcM47nvwvY</a></p>&mdash; Anadolu Efes SK (@AnadoluEfesSK) <a href="https://twitter.com/AnadoluEfesSK/status/1528057425202380800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🤩 EL QUINTETO PARA LA FINAL DE <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroLeague</a>: <br> <br>6⃣ <a href="https://twitter.com/albertoabalde6?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@albertoabalde6</a> <br>8️⃣ Adam Hanga<br>1️⃣4️⃣ <a href="https://twitter.com/gabriel_deck?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@gabriel_deck</a> <br>2⃣2⃣ <a href="https://twitter.com/waltertavares22?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@waltertavares22</a> <br>2⃣8⃣ <a href="https://twitter.com/DTP_Mario?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DTP_Mario</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/PalladiumHG?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PalladiumHG</a> <a href="https://t.co/GciQGvGh8C">pic.twitter.com/GciQGvGh8C</a></p>&mdash; Real Madrid Basket (@RMBaloncesto) <a href="https://twitter.com/RMBaloncesto/status/1528056680268894219?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### Real’s bigs are pumped 

While most of the players on the two teams are taking it easy on the pre-game layup lines, several members of the Real Madrid frontcourt are hyped and showing it. Guerschon Yabusele, Vincent Poirier, Jeffery Taylor and Walter Tavares have all throws down some monster slams in the warmups. It’s Saturday night’s main event and these guys are feeling it!

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr">✨ <a href="https://twitter.com/DTP_Mario?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DTP_Mario</a> ✨<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/APorLa11?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#APorLa11</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4Glory?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4Glory</a> <a href="https://t.co/pQrXIqaM6F">pic.twitter.com/pQrXIqaM6F</a></p>&mdash; Real Madrid Basket (@RMBaloncesto) <a href="https://twitter.com/RMBaloncesto/status/1528048213067956232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/AnadoluEfesSK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AnadoluEfesSK</a> gets on the court!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> <a href="https://t.co/gvFensc506">pic.twitter.com/gvFensc506</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1528053204767887360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/RMBaloncesto?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RMBaloncesto</a> is ready for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> Championship battle! 🔥👀 <a href="https://t.co/UQng9L84zS">pic.twitter.com/UQng9L84zS</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1528052586598875137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


### Juan Nuñez to dress for Los Blancos

There has been much conversation around Belgrade about who would fill the roster spot of injured Real Madrid guard Nigel Williams-Goss for the championship game. Coach Pablo Laso decided on 17-year-old talent Juan Nuñez. The promising teenager has already appeared in 10 EuroLeague games this season, including once in the playoffs against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv. He played a season-high 10 minutes against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in Round 18, scored a season-high 5 against ALBA Berlin in Round 13 and dished a season-high 3 assists against UNICS Kazan in Round 7.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">👏 Respect for the MVP <a href="https://t.co/Fd0wwUX0Ho">pic.twitter.com/Fd0wwUX0Ho</a></p>&mdash; 🏆 Barça Basket (@FCBbasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/FCBbasket/status/1528046939488518144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The game stats!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreOlympiacos?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreOlympiacos</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherWeFight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherWeFight</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EveryGameMatters?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EveryGameMatters</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BAROLY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BAROLY</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> <a href="https://t.co/teAVioyRTY">pic.twitter.com/teAVioyRTY</a></p>&mdash; Olympiacos B.C. (@olympiacosbc) <a href="https://twitter.com/olympiacosbc/status/1528044061499719681?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ca" dir="ltr">🚨 FINAL Barça 84-74 <a href="https://twitter.com/olympiacosbc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@olympiacosbc</a><br> <br>👏 Bon esforç, equip! <br><br>🥉 Acabem l&#39;<a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroLeague</a> en tercera posició<br><br>🔵🔴<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/For%C3%A7aBar%C3%A7a?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ForçaBarça</a>! <a href="https://t.co/8OM93vfb5Z">pic.twitter.com/8OM93vfb5Z</a></p>&mdash; 🏆 Barça Basket (@FCBbasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/FCBbasket/status/1528040777800114177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### Finalists are in the building!

While Barcelona and Olympiacos tussle in the Third-Place Game, the finalists are getting ready for Saturday night’s main event. Real Madrid was followed minutes later by Anadolu Efes Istanbul in arriving at Stark Arena late in the third quarter so their players can change, stretch and be ready to take the court for early shots as soon as the early game finishes.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">3rd Quarter Ends FC Barcelona - <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OlympiacosBC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OlympiacosBC</a> 62-56 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreOlympiacos?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreOlympiacos</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherWeFight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherWeFight</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EveryGameMatters?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EveryGameMatters</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BAROLY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BAROLY</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> <a href="https://t.co/ffLc8sLndr">pic.twitter.com/ffLc8sLndr</a></p>&mdash; Olympiacos B.C. (@olympiacosbc) <a href="https://twitter.com/olympiacosbc/status/1528034332346138626?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### Reds take advantage of Barca’s third-quarter woes

Real Madrid turned its semifinal against Barcelona around with a 2-17 run to finish the third quarter and that same quarter is proving to be a problem for Barcelona tonight. After surging to a 57-42 lead, the Reds finish the third on a 2-10 run in which Vezenkov scored 8.  

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">👊 A solid run to end the half!<br><br>🏀 Barça 45-38 <a href="https://twitter.com/olympiacosbc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@olympiacosbc</a><br><br>👉Descans<br><br>🔵🔴<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/For%C3%A7aBar%C3%A7a?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ForçaBarça</a>! <a href="https://t.co/dVB4UstWy5">pic.twitter.com/dVB4UstWy5</a></p>&mdash; 🏆 Barça Basket (@FCBbasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/FCBbasket/status/1528024054183124993?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### Barca regains control

After Olympiacos completed its comeback and the lead changed hands several times, Barcelona finished the half strong with 8 unsawed points to lead 45-38 at the break. Nick Calathes fed Sertac Sanli for a triple and then Mirotic set up Alex Abrines for a three. Calathes banked in a shot to conclude the run.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Beautiful basketball by <a href="https://twitter.com/olympiacosbc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@olympiacosbc</a> and an athletic Shaquielle McKissic finish!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> I <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/7DAYSMagicMoment?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#7DAYSMagicMoment</a> <a href="https://t.co/kv7Gu9voDP">pic.twitter.com/kv7Gu9voDP</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1528023910632935424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">1st Quarter Ends FC Barcelona - <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OlympiacosBC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OlympiacosBC</a> 20-18 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreOlympiacos?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreOlympiacos</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherWeFight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherWeFight</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EveryGameMatters?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EveryGameMatters</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BAROLY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BAROLY</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> <a href="https://t.co/1EoFgJQ01A">pic.twitter.com/1EoFgJQ01A</a></p>&mdash; Olympiacos B.C. (@olympiacosbc) <a href="https://twitter.com/olympiacosbc/status/1528018101559754752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### Olympiacos closes the gap

Tyler Dorsey scored 6 first-quarter points and All-EuroLeague forward Sasha Vezenkov contributed 5 points and 3 rebounds as the Reds closed the gap. Hassan Martin’s tip-in that narrowly beat the first-quarter buzzer made it 20-18 after 10 minutes.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sasha Vezenkov beats the first-quarter buzzer!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> I <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/7DAYSMagicMoment?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#7DAYSMagicMoment</a> <a href="https://t.co/JU3em2Qlq7">pic.twitter.com/JU3em2Qlq7</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1528019319572996096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### Mirotic takes charge early

Barcelona has jumped out to a 10-2 lead with EuroLeague MVP Nikola Mirotic running the show. The star power forward has scored twice and dished 2 assists in that charge. He also suffered an incidental elbow to his face from Olympiacos forward Kostas Papanikolaou, but he kept on shining.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">Starting 5️⃣ / 5️⃣ inicial del Barça<br> <br>🧠 Calathes<br>🧙‍♂️ Laprovittola<br>🎯 Kuric<br>⭐️ Mirotic<br>🕺 Sanli<br> <br>🔵🔴<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/For%C3%A7aBar%C3%A7a?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ForçaBarça</a>! <a href="https://t.co/d5en7ylwxZ">pic.twitter.com/d5en7ylwxZ</a></p>&mdash; 🏆 Barça Basket (@FCBbasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/FCBbasket/status/1528012555607752707?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The starting five!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreOlympiacos?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreOlympiacos</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherWeFight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherWeFight</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BAROLY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BAROLY</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> <a href="https://t.co/h5dl7qMxwZ">pic.twitter.com/h5dl7qMxwZ</a></p>&mdash; Olympiacos B.C. (@olympiacosbc) <a href="https://twitter.com/olympiacosbc/status/1528012477321076737?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">💨 Sortim! <a href="https://t.co/ZbgyhmnWu7">pic.twitter.com/ZbgyhmnWu7</a></p>&mdash; 🏆 Barça Basket (@FCBbasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/FCBbasket/status/1528010220663975937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🔴⚪️ Proud of our Team!!!<br><br>Let’s do this!!! 💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OLYKOKKINA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OLYKOKKINA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OlympiacosBC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OlympiacosBC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreOlympiacos?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreOlympiacos</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherWeFight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherWeFight</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> <a href="https://t.co/aUJRStLWnt">pic.twitter.com/aUJRStLWnt</a></p>&mdash; Olympiacos B.C. (@olympiacosbc) <a href="https://twitter.com/olympiacosbc/status/1528011800092065792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here to make their fans proud of the season they have had! <br><br>Coach Bartzokas wants a strong finish from his <a href="https://twitter.com/olympiacosbc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@olympiacosbc</a> side at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> <a href="https://t.co/FggEYP2DfH">pic.twitter.com/FggEYP2DfH</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1528010381070835713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Good afternoon, Turkish Airlines EuroLeague fans! The day has come to crown a EuroLeague champion! It will either be Anadolu Efes Istanbul repeating as champion or Real Madrid winning its 11th continental title in Belgrade, the place where it won its 10th in 2018. Stay tuned as we will be here with you until a new champ lifts the trophy. First, however, at 16:00 CET, FC Barcelona and Olympiacos Piraeus play for third place.

Follow all the latest news and updates for Saturday's games, the third-place game followed by the EuroLeague Championship Game, here with the Game Blog!



Game Blog: Back-to-back titles for Efes!

Juan Nunez - Real Madrid - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

Anadolu Efes Istanbul champ Final Four Belgrade 2022 2- EB21-FFF

Nikola Djurisic was named the Most Valuable Player award of the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Finals for leading U18 Mega Mozzart Belgrade to its first ANGT title in club history. 

Djurisic named ANGT Finals MVP after helping Mega to title

At a ceremony at halftime of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game, Djurisic headlined the All-Tournament Team which also included his teammate and center Bassala Bagayoko, forward Pacome Dadiet of the U18 Next Generation Select Team, guard Kymany Houinsou from U18 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne and U18 Real Madrid center Eli Ndiaye.

Djurisic, Houinsou and Ndiaye all made the ANGT Finals All-Tournament Team in 2020-21 with Ndiaye being named MVP last season.

Djurisic spearheaded a big fourth quarter run in Mega's 82-61 victory over NGS in the ANGT Championship Game and finished with a team-high 21 points to go with 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal for a performance index rating of 8. For the tournament, the guard collected 20.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 9.0 fouls drawn for a PIR of 16.3.

Bagayoko played a major role in Mega getting the title as well as he tallied 16 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals for a PIR of 28 in the Championship Game. In three games, he averaged 17.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.7 blocks for an average PIR of 28.0.

Bagayoko also took home the Rising Star award as the best player born 2005 or later. The 2006-born big man follows in the footsteps of Paulius Murauskas, who won the only previous edition of the honor, in 2019.

Dadiet helped NGS reach the ANGT Championship Game, where he picked up 5 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals for a PIR of 4. For the tournament he had 13.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals and an index rating of 13.5.

Houinsou averaged 13.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 2.7 steals and 6.7 fouls drawn for an average PIR of 24.0 for ASVEL, which finished with a 2-1 record.

Ndiaye had 15.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.0 steals 1.0 blocks and 20.3 PIR for a Real team that also had a 2-1 record.

Nikola Djurisic MVP - U18 Mega Mozzart Belgrade champ Next Generation Tournament Final Four Belgrade 2022 - JT21

All-Tournament Team Generation Tournament Final Four Belgrade 2022 - JT21

Barcelona led much of the game and was ahead by as many 15 points, 57-42, midway through the third quarter, but had to resist several comeback attempts by Olympiacos, which got within 68-65 midway throughout the final one. Nikola Mirotic, Cory Higgins and Nick Calathes came up big right after the timeout that followed, returning Barcelona to a dominant position that it never abandoned. Mirotic led all Barcelona scorers with 19 points. Sertac Sanli followed with 16 while Higgins and Brandon Davies provided 11 and 10, respectively, for the winners. Nick Calathes came close to a triple-double by contributing 13 assists, 9 points and 8 rebounds. Combined with his 9 assists from the semifinals, he set a Final Four record with 22 assists in two games. Sasha Vezenkov paced Olympiacos by posting 20 points and 11 boards. Kostas Sloukas added 14 points and 7 assists, while Shaquielle McKissic scored 11 points and Tyler Dorsey poured in 10 in the losing effort.

Mirotic and Dorsey swapped baskets in the first two possessions of the game, but Barcelona was the first team to find offensive momentum. An 8-0 run in which four different players scored granted Barcelona an early 10-2 lead after 4 minutes. Dorsey revived Olympiacos and Thomas Walkup showed up from deep to bring the Reds within 10-7. Even though Sanli soon replied from the same place and Higgins banked a short jumper, Vezenkov took the reins on offense to reduce Olympiacos's disadvantage to 15-13. The rally was cut short, though, as Dante Exum contributed a three-point and Higgins added a basket that helped Barcelona retain a 20-15 edge after 10 minutes.

Another strong start lifted Barcelona's advantage to 28-22 with Brandon Davies and Rokas Jokubaitis combining for 8 points. Nobody else joined in, though, so Olympiacos got back in the game quite quickly. McKissic sparked the flame first, then Giannoulis Larentzakis and Sloukas followed to fill a 2-9 run that put the Reds in charge for the first time, 30-31, midway through the second quarter. Olyimpiacos kept scoring through its backcourt to hold a short margin, 35-36, which temporarily suffocated the fire Alex Abrines tried to start for Barcelona from beyond the arc. Sanli came on to help Abrines, contributing a bucket and a triple that Abrines followed with another bomb to make it 43-38. A couple of free throws by Calathes closed the first half with Barcelona in command, 45-38.

Abrines provided a dunk off a steal, then Sanli and Mirotic followed him with back-to-back triples that built a double-digit margin for Barcelona, 53-42, early in the third quarter. Mirotic made it even worse for the Reds with an inside bucket, while Laprovittola extended the difference to 57-42 after 24 minutes. Dorsey and Walkup stopped the bleeding for Olympiacos with free throws, but the Reds needed more than 4 minutes to score a single field goal. As such, Barcelona found no trouble in keeping the Reds under control, 60-46. Vezenkov came to rescue then, going for a three-pointer, a three-point play and a layup that changed the momentum at 62-54, raising the Olympiacos fans to their feet. Barcelona looked frozen against the Reds defense as Sloukas joined in later to bring Olympiacos within 62-56 entering the last stanza.

Higgins tried to cool down the Reds with a corner jumper to open the fourth quarter, but the Olympiacos defense was already geared up. Vezenkov and McKissic trimmed the difference to 64-60 before Calathes and Mirotic took over on the offensive side to rebuild a 68-60 Barcelona edge. It was not all said and done for the Reds, though. Sloukas drilled a three and McKissic followed with a monster fastbreak slam to force Barcelona to call timeout at 68-65 with 4 minutes remaining. However, a 7-1 run sparked by Mirotic right after that pushed Barcelona to a 75-66 margin, which looked like a final blow for the Reds. Walkup and Vezenkov tried to delay the outcome with a three-pointer and a free throw, respectively, but that couldn't stop Barcelona from following the winning path. Sanli and Mirotic hit from inside, Higgins secured a couple of free throws and Calathes capped the offensive charge with a triple that sealed the win, 84-74.

FC Barcelona took third place at the 2022 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four thanks to an 84-74 win over Olympiacos Piraeus. 

Barca turns back Reds, 84-74, for third place

FC Barcelona v Olympiacos Piraeus (2022-05-21T14:00:00.000Z)

Players FC Barcelona - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21-3rd

Post-game quotes third place game: Barcelona vs. Olympiacos

### Sarunas Jasikevicius, FC Barcelona head coach:

"Congratulations to our players and fans and a big thank you to our fans who came to Belgrade and supported us. Everybody understands the feelings we have right now about this Final Four, it’s not really the most pleasant thing to play this game. I was really worried about how the team would look especially at the beginning, and the feeling of sadness that you enter the game with. But the guys showed a lot of professionalism and seriousness about them, going about their business. I thought it was very good. I thought it was important to do exactly what we did, come out, try to do the job.

"Obviously it’s not whole lot better now, the feeling, but it’s a little bit better. There were some positive performances for us, especially Cory playing so many minutes, that’s so important for us. Hopefully he can catch some rhythm and be the Cory Higgins that we know. Congratulations also to Olympiacos and the amazing atmosphere their fans created in this Final Four, they showed what kind of support they have and it’s really something we should mention. It’s a beautiful thing. It’s obvious that we have a good team but it’s also obvious we have a problem killing off games. Everybody knows Barca has a good team that can fight for everything. It was important to win today but not at any price, and Cory playing 22 minutes is very positive news for us. The locker room is terrible. It’s very sad.

"And I think that’s a good thing. We know that we have allowed a very big opportunity to escape us. But we know it’s not possible to win everything and a very important league trophy continues. We have to rest a little and go for the league playoffs. We have to keep pushing. No team is perfect, every team has defects and we know our own. The guys will keep working. We know that we’ve given the fans a lot of happiness already but we also know the most important thing for Barca fans is EuroLeague. So we have to keep working for more. The details we lack is about the game plan, the rules we have.

"Taking away the main thing the opposing player can do and how we can attack. But the most important is to not give any free stuff to the opponent, make them work for everything. The killer instinct is something we are trying to get. If you give a Final Four team the opportunity, they will come back. I have a team full of 30 year olds. They are experienced guys. They’ve been through good things and bad things. We have to be professional and finish the season good. We leave here tonight and this must be forgotten."

### Georgios Bartzokas, Olympiacos Piraeus head coach:

"Obviously it was a game that doesn’t give you anything, but at the same time we had to play for our pride, we had to compete for our fans. Generally I think it was a really good game, like a small final. I would like to mention two things: firstly to say how grateful I am about our fans, about the fantastic support we had all season and even today in a game without interest. I would also like to mention Georgios Printezis. 

"I think he is blessed to feel the appreciation of the fans in that way on his, probably, last game in Europe with Olympiacos. For us, it’s important to finish the season winning the domestic league. We wanted something more at the Final Four but I cannot complain about anything, and good luck to the teams that play in the final now. All year we had very good percentage from threes, but some of our players had a little pressure coming here. Maybe it was my fault that I couldn’t throw the responsibility from their shoulders.

"All year we had the best average in EuroLeague and the domestic league, so I don’t believe we have a problem from the three point line. We have a lot of good shooters but I just think we had a lot of pressure at the Final Four and it was a problem. We have a core of very good players who are contracted for next year. Georgios Printezis is 37 but everyone else is a fantastic age, a combination of enthusiasm and experience. Our additions will be two or three players, with quality to help the team that we already have."

### Nikola Mirotic, FC Barcelona forward:

“We definitely need to build from this win for the rest of the season. Obviously, it was tough to play this game, emotionally especially, but with this crowd today at some point I felt it was a final. So you’ve always got to be positive, you’ve always got to learn, and we’ve got a lot of things to learn from this Final Four. It was an amazing tournament so far, the crowd was amazing. I’m proud of our team especially today how we played. We showed our character, we were together and we won the game.”

### Nick Calathes, FC Barcelona guard:

“We wanted to end on a good note. We weren’t happy with our first game, but we wanted to finish strong at the Final Four and now hopefully win the Spanish league. It was difficult when you come here, you’re first all year and believe you’re the best team. But that’s sports, nothing is guaranteed. It’s disappointing but hopefully, we can win the Spanish league.”

### Sertac Sanli, FC Barcelona center:

"In this tournament, the Third Place Game is really hard to play. I think in this team everybody is professional and we had to get ready mentally, and it was a good basketball match. We played a good basketball match. This win will maybe give us a little bit of morale before the ACB playoffs. Everybody thinks too much about two days ago. It is better to look forward; we have the ACB playoffs and have to focus on that. I hope we win the league. The atmosphere was completely amazing. It felt like we were playing a game in Piraeus. They have really good fans, we have really good fans, and it was a great atmosphere. It's good to play in this kind of atmosphere, especially after the losses both teams had two days ago. Maybe because of the fans, we saw some good basketball."

### Kostas Sloukas, Olympiacos Piraeus guard:

"Fans are amazing, that is the first thing that comes to mind. Not just here in Belgrade, the whole year. They helped us a lot to get here and I am so proud of our fans because they are our sixth player. This game was tough, very difficult because our mind was on that last shot and the way we lost against Efes. We fought, but they fought, too and they won. Now we have to finish the season strong in the Greek championship."

### Thomas Walkup, Olympiacos Piraeus guard:

"The Third Place Game is always weird. You are not really fighting for anything but you are honoring the game of basketball. And because they showed up like this, we were also honoring the fans. It would be a shame to not show up and play as hard as we can because throughout the EuroLeague season, they have been there backing us every single game. It wouldn't be doing them justice if we didn't come out and play as hard as we could. That's what we tried to do today, as a 'thank you'. Our goal at the beginning of the year was the Final Four. That changed a little bit once we got here and felt like a little bit of an opportunity slipped, to be honest. I don't think we will ever play the Final Four in front of 12,000 of our own fans again. So I think disappointed is the right word, that we didn't come away with the championship. It did feel like an amazing opportunity. That's life."

Here are the thoughts of the protagonists after the third place game between Barcelona and Olympiacos

Sarunas Jasikevicius - FC Barcelona - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21-3rd

Euroleague Basketball CEO met with many of the hundreds of media attending the 2022 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Belgrade on Friday to discuss the state of affairs in the company.

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