The 2019 EuroLeague Final Four was the concluding EuroLeague Final Four tournament of the 2018–19 EuroLeague season, the 62nd season of Europe's premier club basketball tournament, and the 19th season since it was first organised by Euroleague Basketball. It was the 32nd Final Four of the modern EuroLeague Final Four era (1988–present), and the 34th time overall that the competition has concluded with a final four format. The Final Four was played at the Fernando Buesa Arena in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, on 17 and 19 May 2019.[2][3]
Season | 2018–19 EuroLeague |
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Tournament details | |
Arena | Fernando Buesa Arena Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain |
Dates | 17–19 May 2019 |
Final positions | |
Champions | CSKA Moscow (8th title) |
Runners-up | Anadolu Efes |
Third place | Real Madrid |
Fourth place | Fenerbahçe Beko |
Awards and statistics | |
MVP | Will Clyburn |
Top scorer(s) | Shane Larkin (59 points) |
Venue
editOn May 15, 2018, Euroleague Basketball announced that the Final Four will be held in the Fernando Buesa Arena in Vitoria-Gasteiz. It was the first time ever the event would be hosted in Vitoria. The arena hosted the 1996 FIBA Saporta Cup Final, in which local Saski Baskonia won the title and also hosted the 2010 EuroCup Finals.[4]
The Final Eight of the Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup) was played four times at Buesa Arena (2000, 2002, 2008 and 2013).[5]
On 9 April 2012, at the game of Caja Laboral against Real Madrid, Fernando Buesa Arena registered the record of attendance in a basketball game of the Spanish Liga ACB with 15,504 spectators.[6]
Vitoria-Gasteiz | 2019 EuroLeague Final Four (Europe) |
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Fernando Buesa Arena | |
Capacity: 15,716 | |
Background
editReal Madrid
editReal Madrid failed to defend the title after finishing the regular season in the third position, with a 22–8 record, and being the first qualified team by beating Panathinaikos OPAP 3–0 in the playoffs. This was their seventh Final Four in the last nine editions and the third consecutive.
Coach Pablo Laso could have won his third title in his sixth Final Four appearance.
Bracket
editSemifinals | Championship game | |||||
17 May | ||||||
Fenerbahçe Beko | 73 | |||||
19 May | ||||||
Anadolu Efes | 92 | |||||
Anadolu Efes | 83 | |||||
17 May | ||||||
CSKA Moscow | 91 | |||||
CSKA Moscow | 95 | |||||
Real Madrid | 90 | |||||
Third place game | ||||||
19 May | ||||||
Fenerbahçe Beko | 75 | |||||
Real Madrid | 94 |
Semifinals
editSemifinal A
editTurkish champions Fenerbahçe Beko returned to the Final Four to make it their fifth straight appearance. Led by head coach Željko Obradović, the all-time record holder for most EuroLeague championships won by a head coach, it defeated Žalgiris Kaunas 3–1 in the play-offs, to clinch a semi-final spot.
Anadolu Efes qualified for its first Final Four since 2001, this being their third appearance in total, after finishing the regular season in the 16 th (last) place the previous year. The club beat Barcelona Lassa 3–2 in the play-offs.
Larkin set a new EuroLeague Final Four record for Performance Index Rating with 43.[7]
17 May 2019 | Fenerbahçe Beko | 73–92 | Anadolu Efes | Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain |
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18:00 (CEST) | Scoring by quarter: 20–19, 20–26, 17–23, 16–24 | |||
Pts: Veselý 14 Rebs: Melli 4 Asts: Gudurić 6 PIR: Kalinić 15 |
Boxscore | Pts: Larkin 30 Rebs: Dunston 10 Asts: Larkin 7 PIR: Larkin 43 |
Arena: Fernando Buesa Arena Attendance: 13,470 Referees: Luigi Lamonica, Oļegs Latiševs, Mehdi Difallah |
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Semifinal B
editRussian champions CSKA Moscow returned to the Final Four to make it their eighth consecutive Final Four appearance. The club beat Kirolbet Baskonia 3–1 in the play-offs.
Defending Euroleague and spanish champions Real Madrid would play its third consecutive Final Four appearance. The match would be a re-match of the 2018 Semifinal A, which Real Madrid won on their way to their 10th title. Real Madrid beat Panathinaikos OPAP 3–0 in the play-offs.
17 May 2019 | CSKA Moscow | 95–90 | Real Madrid | Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain |
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21:00 (CEST) | Scoring by quarter: 18–22, 25–23, 22–28, 30–17 | |||
Pts: De Colo, Rodríguez 23 Rebs: three players 5 Asts: Rodríguez 4 PIR: De Colo 27 |
Boxscore | Pts: Causeur 18 Rebs: Tavares 9 Asts: Campazzo 6 PIR: Causeur 17 |
Arena: Fernando Buesa Arena Attendance: 13,199 Referees: Matej Boltauzer, Borys Ryzhyk, Anne Panther |
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Third place game
editFenerbahçe and Real Madrid faced off in a re-match of the 2018 championship game. Facundo Campazzo set an all-time record for assists in a Final Four game, with 15. He surpassed Terrell McIntyre's record from 2008.[8]
19 May 2019 | Fenerbahçe Beko | 75–94 | Real Madrid | Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain |
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17:30 (CEST) | Scoring by quarter: 16–24, 24–14, 23–31, 12–25 | |||
Pts: Sloukas 17 Rebs: Düverioğlu 9 Asts: Sloukas 6 PIR: Sloukas 18 |
Boxscore | Pts: Ayón 23 Rebs: Ayón 11 Asts: Campazzo 15 PIR: Ayón 36 |
Arena: Fernando Buesa Arena Attendance: 12,866 Referees: Matej Boltauzer, Fernando Rocha, Mehdi Difallah |
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Championship game
editThe seven-time EuroLeague champions CSKA Moscow advanced to the championship game for the seventh time and first since 2016 EuroLeague Final Four. Anadolu Efes advance to the Final Four Championship Game for the first time in their history, having finished third in both previous Euroleague Final Four participations. Remarkable was that in the previous season, Efes finished sixteenth and last in the EuroLeague.
Shane Larkin broke the record for most points scored in a Final Four, with 59 total.[9]
19 May 2019 | Anadolu Efes | 83–91 | CSKA Moscow | Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain |
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20:30 (CEST) | Scoring by quarter: 20–29, 22–15, 20–24, 21–23 | |||
Pts: Larkin 29 Rebs: Dunston, Simon 10 Asts: Micić 5 PIR: Larkin 24 |
Boxscore | Pts: Higgins, Clyburn 20 Rebs: Three players 5 Asts: Hackett 5 PIR: Higgins 23 |
Arena: Fernando Buesa Arena Attendance: 13,420 Referees: Robert Lottermoser, Luigi Lamonica, Oļegs Latiševs |
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References
edit- ^ "2019 Final Four logo unveiled in Vitoria-Gasteiz". EuroLeague.net. 20 February 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
- ^ "Vitoria-Gasteiz to host the 2019 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four". 15 May 2017.
- ^ "Final Four general public tickets are now sold out!" (Press release). Euroleague Basketball. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
- ^ Eurocupbasketball.com - An arena that grows with basketball's popularity.
- ^ Eurocup'96 Archived 2008-06-06 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "¡15.504 espectadores! El Buesa Arena establece un nuevo récord de asistencia". Archived from the original on 2012-04-13. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
- ^ "Larkin smashes Final Four PIR record". Welcome to EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
- ^ "2019 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four records review". Welcome to EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ "2019 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four records review". Welcome to EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL. Retrieved 3 June 2019.