2018 EuroLeague Final Four

The 2018 EuroLeague Final Four was the concluding EuroLeague Final Four tournament of the 2017–18 EuroLeague season, the 61st season of Europe's premier club basketball tournament, and the 18th season since it was organised by Euroleague Basketball. It was the 31st Final Four of the modern EuroLeague Final Four era (1988–present), and the 33rd time overall that the competition had concluded with a final four format. The Final Four was played at the Štark Arena in Belgrade, Serbia, on 18 and 20 May 2018.[2]

2018 EuroLeague Final Four
The official logo was unveiled on 13 February 2018[1]
Season2017–18 EuroLeague
Tournament details
ArenaŠtark Arena
Belgrade, Serbia
Dates18–20 May 2018
Final positions
Champions Real Madrid (10th title)
Runners-up Fenerbahçe Doğuş
Third place Žalgiris
Fourth place CSKA Moscow
Awards and statistics
MVP Luka Dončić

Venue

On October 26, 2016, Euroleague Basketball announced that the Final Four would be held in the Štark Arena in Belgrade.[2] It is designed as a universal hall for sports, cultural events and other programs. It was the first time the EuroLeague Final Four was hosted in Belgrade, or in the country of Serbia. The Arena's total floor area is 48,000 square metres. For sports, it has a regular seating capacity for fans of 18,386, and also has 70 luxury boxes, which include a total of 860 seats.[3] The arena's cost was estimated at 70 million.[4] Štark Arena is a member of the European Arenas Association (EAA).[5]

Belgrade
2018 EuroLeague Final Four (Europe)
Štark Arena
Capacity: 18,386

Background

CSKA Moscow

CSKA Moscow finished the regular season as the number one seed, after having a 24–6 record. In the quarter-finals, the team played another Russian side in Khimki. CSKA won the series 3–1 over Khimki, after a controversial 88–89 win in Game 4.[6] In the United League season, CSKA was in second place while battling for the first seed.

Fenerbahçe Doğuş

Fenerbahçe finished second in the regular season and defeated Kirolbet Baskonia in the quarter-finals. Fenerbahçe reached the Final Four for a fourth straight year. Head coach Željko Obradović had the opportunity to win his tenth EuroLeague title, a record for most titles by a coach.

Real Madrid

Madrid battled injuries during the regular season, as Sergio Llull, Ognjen Kuzmić and Rudy Fernández missed most of the games. As a five-seed, the team beat Panathinaikos in a controversial quarterfinal series, 1–3. The star player for Madrid during the season was Luka Dončić, who led the league in Performance Index Rating (PIR), and was later a top-three pick in the 2018 NBA draft. Dončić's games during the Final Four were televised in the United States, by NBA TV.

In the 2017–18 ACB season, Real Madrid was the number one seed.

Žalgiris

In the regular season, Žalgiris qualified as the sixth seed. Žalgiris won the series over favored Olympiacos, 3–1. For EuroLeague Legend Šarūnas Jasikevičius, this was his first visit to the Final Four as a head coach and also for the club since 1999. In its domestic LKL season, the club dominated as well, as it was in a secure first seed.

Bracket

 
Championship game
 
      
 
18 May
 
 
CSKA Moscow 83
 
20 May
 
Real Madrid 92
 
Real Madrid 85
 
18 May
 
Fenerbahçe Doğuş 80
 
Fenerbahçe Doğuş 76
 
 
Žalgiris 67
 
Third place game
 
 
20 May
 
 
CSKA Moscow 77
 
 
Žalgiris 79

Semifinals

Semifinal A

Russian champions CSKA Moscow returned to the Final Four to make it their seventh consecutive semi-final appearance. CSKA guard Sergio Rodríguez would play the semi-final against his former club, which he won the EuroLeague title with in 2015, as well as the EuroLeague MVP award in 2014.

Real Madrid would play its fourth Final Four in five years. The match would be a re-match of the 2017 third-place game. During the regular season, both teams won their respective games at home, with this game being considered a Real Madrid home game.

18 May 2018 CSKA Moscow 8392 Real Madrid Belgrade, Serbia
21:00 UTC+02:00 Scoring by quarter: 30–20, 16–27, 10–16, 27–29
Pts: De Colo 20
Rebs: Hines 9
Asts: Rodríguez 6
PIR: Hines 23
Boxscore Pts: Dončić, Llull 16
Rebs: Ayón 11
Asts: Llull 5
PIR: three players 18
Arena: Štark Arena
Attendance: 15,232
Referees: Luigi Lamonica (ITA), Robert Lottermoser (GER), Matej Boltauzer (SLO)


Starters:PtsRebAst
PG 13 Sergio Rodríguez 5 2 6
SG 22 Cory Higgins 15 2 3
SF 41 Nikita Kurbanov 7 1 0
PF 11 Semyon Antonov 0 0 0
C 44 Othello Hunter 4 7 0
Reserves:
PG 1 Nando de Colo 20 1 1
C 3 Victor Rudd 0 0 0
SG 7 Vitaly Fridzon 0 0 0
PF 20 Andrey Vorontsevich 0 1 1
SF 21 Will Clyburn 16 7 2
PF 31 Victor Khryapa 0 1 0
C 42 Kyle Hines 16 9 1
Head coach:
Dimitrios Itoudis
CSKA Moscow
Real Madrid

0

CSKAStatisticsR.Madrid
18/44 (40.9%)2-pt field goals17/34 (50%)
10/24 (41.7%)3-pt field goals12/27 (44.4%)
17/19 (89.5%)Free throws22/36 (61.1%)
13Offensive rebounds14
25Defensive rebounds29
38Total rebounds43
14Assists20
13Turnovers13
4Steals6
3Blocks5
29Fouls22
Starters:PtsRebAst
PG 11 Facundo Campazzo 0 1 1
SG 7 Luka Dončić 16 7 2
SF 44 Jeffery Taylor 3 1 0
PF 9 Felipe Reyes 5 2 0
C 14 Gustavo Ayón 12 11 1
Reserves:
SG 1 Fabien Causeur 6 2 3
PF 3 Anthony Randolph 2 2 2
SF 5 Rudy Fernández 6 2 2
SG 20 Jaycee Carroll 9 2 3
C 22 Edy Tavares 5 0 0
PG 23 Sergio Llull 16 0 5
PF 33 Trey Thompkins 12 6 1
Head coach:
Pablo Laso

Semifinal B

Defending champions Fenerbahçe Doğuş returned to the Final Four to make it their third straight appearance. Led by head coach Željko Obradović, the all-time record holder for most EuroLeague championships won by a head coach, it defeated Kirolbet Baskonia 1–3 in the quarter-finals, to clinch a semi-final spot.

Žalgiris Kaunas qualified for its first Final Four in 20 years, as the last time the team participated was in 1999, where it claimed the championship as well. The club beat Olympiacos 3–1 in the play-offs, despite not having home court advantage.

18 May 2018 Fenerbahçe Doğuş 7667 Žalgiris Kaunas Belgrade, Serbia
18:00 UTC+02:00 Scoring by quarter: 19–13, 20–20, 15–17, 22–17
Pts: Muhammed 19
Rebs: Düverioğlu 5
Asts: Melli 6
PIR: Muhammed 18
Boxscore Pts: Pangos 16
Rebs: Davies 11
Asts: Micić, Pangos 4
PIR: Davies 21
Arena: Štark Arena
Attendance: 16,967
Referees: Daniel Hierrezuelo (ESP), Sreten Radović (CRO), Oļegs Latiševs (LAT)


Starters:PtsRebAst
PG 11 Brad Wanamaker 9 1 3
SG 23 Marko Gudurić 0 0 1
SF 33 Nikola Kalinić 2 1 2
PF 24 Jan Veselý 8 3 0
C 44 Ahmet Düverioğlu 4 5 0
Reserves:
PF 1 Jason Thompson 0 2 0
PF 4 Nicolò Melli 4 3 6
SG 10 Melih Mahmutoğlu DNP
PG 16 Kostas Sloukas 14 1 3
SF 21 James Nunnally 0 0 1
PG 35 Ali Muhammed 19 1 0
SF 70 Luigi Datome 16 2 0
Head coach:
Željko Obradović
Fenerbahçe
Žalgiris

0

FenerbahçeStatisticsŽalgiris
24/42 (57.1%)2-pt field goals21/40 (52.5%)
7/18 (38.9%)3-pt field goals2/10 (20%)
7/11 (63.6%)Free throws19/27 (70.4%)
9Offensive rebounds16
13Defensive rebounds21
22Total rebounds37
16Assists13
10Turnovers20
13Steals5
3Blocks2
27Fouls19
Starters:PtsRebAst
PG 3 Kevin Pangos 16 5 4
SG 92 Edgaras Ulanovas 7 3 0
SF 6 Axel Toupane 6 1 1
PF 13 Paulius Jankūnas 4 4 0
C 0 Brandon Davies 12 11 2
Reserves:
PG 9 Beno Udrih 2 1 0
C 19 Martynas Sajus DNP
SG 21 Artūras Milaknis 0 0 1
SG 22 Vasilije Micić 5 1 4
PF 30 Aaron White 10 6 0
C 44 Antanas Kavaliauskas 5 2 1
PG 66 Paulius Valinskas DNP
Head coach:
Šarūnas Jasikevičius

Third place game

20 May 2018 CSKA Moscow 7779 Žalgiris Kaunas Belgrade
17:00 UTC+02:00 Scoring by quarter: 19–22, 16–19, 13–28, 29–10
Pts: Kulagin, Hunter 14
Rebs: Hunter 8
Asts: three players 3
PIR: Hunter 25
Boxscore Pts: Jankūnas, Micić 15
Rebs: White 7
Asts: Pangos, Micić 4
PIR: Jankūnas 17
Arena: Štark Arena
Attendance: 14,548
Referees: Daniel Hierrezuelo (ESP), Elias Koromilas (GRE), Robert Lottermoser (GER)


Starters:PtsRebAst
PG 13 Sergio Rodríguez 9 1 3
SG 22 Cory Higgins 12 3 0
SF 41 Nikita Kurbanov 0 0 3
PF 11 Semyon Antonov 0 0 1
C 44 Othello Hunter 14 8 0
Reserves:
PG 1 Nando de Colo 5 1 2
C 3 Victor Rudd 7 1 1
SG 7 Vitaly Fridzon 5 0 0
SF 21 Will Clyburn 2 3 1
PG 30 Mikhail Kulagin 14 2 1
PF 31 Victor Khryapa 3 1 0
C 42 Kyle Hines 6 3 3
Head coach:
Dimitrios Itoudis
CSKA Moscow
Žalgiris

0

CSKAStatisticsŽalgiris
14/37 (37.8%)2-pt field goals25/43 (58.1%)
12/29 (41.4%)3-pt field goals5/11 (45.5%)
13/24 (54.2%)Free throws14/21 (66.7%)
13Offensive rebounds10
18Defensive rebounds27
31Total rebounds37
15Assists16
9Turnovers19
8Steals1
5Blocks1
23Fouls25
Starters:PtsRebAst
PG 3 Kevin Pangos 9 1 4
SG 92 Edgaras Ulanovas 14 1 0
SF 6 Axel Toupane 6 4 0
PF 13 Paulius Jankūnas 15 5 2
C 0 Brandon Davies 2 4 1
Reserves:
PG 9 Beno Udrih 2 2 2
PF 20 Gytis Masiulis DNP
SG 21 Artūras Milaknis 3 3 1
SG 22 Vasilije Micić 15 4 4
PF 30 Aaron White 4 7 2
C 44 Antanas Kavaliauskas 9 5 0
PG 66 Paulius Valinskas DNP
Head coach:
Šarūnas Jasikevičius

Championship game

20 May 2018 Real Madrid 8580 Fenerbahçe Doğuş Belgrade
20:00 UTC+02:00 Scoring by quarter: 21–17, 17–23, 25–15, 22–25
Pts: Causeur 17
Rebs: three players 5
Asts: Dončić 4
PIR: Causeur 21
Boxscore Pts: Melli 28
Rebs: Melli 6
Asts: Wanamaker 5
PIR: Melli 27
Arena: Štark Arena
Attendance: 16,967
Referees: Luigi Lamonica (ITA), Borys Ryzhyk (UKR), Oļegs Latiševs (LAT)


Starters:PtsRebAst
PG 11 Facundo Campazzo 0 1 0
SG 7 Luka Dončić 15 3 4
SF 1 Fabien Causeur 17 2 2
PF 9 Felipe Reyes 6 3 0
C 14 Gustavo Ayón 4 2 1
Reserves:
PF 3 Anthony Randolph 3 1 0
SF 5 Rudy Fernández 5 5 3
SG 20 Jaycee Carroll 9 0 0
C 22 Edy Tavares 8 5 2
PG 23 Sergio Llull 5 0 2
PF 33 Trey Thompkins 10 5 1
SF 44 Jeffery Taylor 3 3 1
Head coach:
Pablo Laso
Real Madrid
Fenerbahçe

0

R.MadridStatisticsFenerbahçe
16/32 (50%)2-pt field goals21/39 (53.8%)
9/21 (42.9%)3-pt field goals7/20 (35%)
26/34 (76.5%)Free throws17/20 (85%)
13Offensive rebounds10
24Defensive rebounds19
37Total rebounds29
16Assists17
12Turnovers12
8Steals4
3Blocks2
26Fouls27


2017–18 EuroLeague champions

Real Madrid
10th title
Starters:PtsRebAst
PG 11 Brad Wanamaker 14 5 5
SG 23 Marko Gudurić 0 1 2
SF 33 Nikola Kalinić 7 3 1
PF 24 Jan Veselý 3 5 2
C 44 Ahmet Düverioğlu 8 1 0
Reserves:
PF 1 Jason Thompson 0 0 0
PF 4 Nicolò Melli 28 6 1
SG 10 Melih Mahmutoğlu DNP
PG 16 Kostas Sloukas 7 1 4
SF 21 James Nunnally 0 0 1
PG 35 Ali Muhammed 7 2 1
SF 70 Luigi Datome 6 2 0
Head coach:
Željko Obradović

References

  1. "Logo for 2018 Final Four Belgrade unveiled". Euroleague.net. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  2. "The Final Four goes to Belgrade in 2018!". Euroleague Basketball. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  3. "Kombank Arena - Kombank Arena Profile". kombankarena.rs. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  4. "Najskuplja kad je - prazna" (in Serbian). Novosti.rs. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  5. "EUROPEAN ARENAS ASSOCIATION". EAA. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  6. The controversial finale of Khimki – CSKA
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