By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Time flies, and this will be evident when the two coaches in the EuroCup Finals shake hands.
Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv mastermind Dimitris Itoudis was an assistant coach of Zeljko Obradovic in Panathinakos, where Gran Canaria’s head coach Jaka Lakovic was the starting shooting guard of the team between 2002 and 2006 (photo).
This is just one of the interesting facts about the two opponents, which include EuroLeague connections, past finals, and more.
The Fenerbahce connection
- Yam Madar and Johnathan Motley made it to the EuroLeague Final Four last season as Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul teammates. Their paths crossed again to try to win the EuroCup title!
- Dimitris Itoudis – among others, their coach last season in Fenerbahce – can join a select group of head coaches who won the EuroLeague and the EuroCup. Itoudis won two Turkish Airlines EuroLeague titles with CSKA Moscow in 2016 and 2019. Three coaches won both competitions in the past: Dusan Ivkovic (Olympiacos 1997, 2012; Dynamo Moscow 2006), David Blatt (Maccabi Tel Aviv 2014, Darussafaka 2018), and Ergin Ataman (Anadolu Efes 2021, 2022; Panathinaikos 2024; Galatasaray 2016).
- Hapoel is in its first EuroCup Final, but it’s the second Israeli team to reach this far in the competition. Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem was the only team to reach this far before, winning the EuroCup title in 2004.
- Joe Ragland is the only Hapoel player with previous EuroCup Finals experience. He made it to the 2018 EuroCup Finals with Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar, losing to Darussafaka Istanbul.
- Yam Madar won the EuroLeague Rising Star trophy in the 2022-23 season. He can join a list of EuroLeague Rising Stars and EuroCup winners that already features Rudy Fernandez and Ricky Rubio.
- Motley averages 17.8 points and a PIR of 20.6 in his 27-game EuroCup career. He has not played enough games to appear in the all-time standings but would rank fourth in both lists. Igor Rakocevic is the competition’s all-time best scorer (19.1 ppg.), and the late Michael Wright leads the all-time table in PIR (22.1 per game).
- Motley ranks sixth in scoring this season. He is averaging 16.1 points in 18 games. He also ranks sixth in PIR average (19.0), third in fouls drawn (6.3 per game), and leads the 2024-25 EuroCup in two-point shots made (5.9 per game).
- Madar is third in three-point shooting in the EuroCup this season. He has buried 52.5% of his three-pointers, only trailing Maxime Courby of Bourg (63.2% 3FG) and Dordije Jovanovic of Buducnost (58.3%).
- Guy Palatin played 97 minutes and 5 seconds this season without picking up any turnover. He has taken part in 15 games up to now.
- Hapoel leads the EuroCup in two-pointers made (23.4 per game) and two-point shooting (61.0% 2FG). It ranks third in scoring (88.1 ppg.) and assists (20.1 apg.), and fourth in blocks (2.9 bpg.).
The third time can be the charm for Gran Canaria
- Gran Canaria made it to its third EuroCup Final. Gran Canaria first reached the final in 2015, losing against Khimki Moscow Region. It won the competition in 2023, downing Turk Telekom Ankara in the final.
- Gran Canaria can be the fourth team to win multiple EuroCup titles. Valencia Basket won four EuroCup titles in 2003, 2010, 2014, and 2019. Rytas Vilnius (2005, 2009) and Khimki Moscow Region (2012, 2015) won two EuroCup titles apiece.
- Five Gran Canaria players have already won the EuroCup title with their current club in 2023. John Shurna, Jovan Kljajic, Andrew Albicy, Miquel Salvo, and Nico Brussino already lifted the trophy with their team.
- Two more Gran Canaria players won the EuroCup in the past. Mike Tobey won it with Valencia in 2019, and Mehdy Ngouama lifted the trophy with Paris Basketball in 2024.
- Ngouama has a unique chance to win back-to-back EuroCup titles with different teams. Only one player won the EuroCup title with different teams in consecutive years: Edu Hernandez-Sonseca (Real Madrid 2007, Joventut Badalona 2008).
- All these seven players can join a list of 21 multiple EuroCup winners. The list includes EuroCup greats like Kelly McCarty, Sergey Monya, Marko Popovic, Sam Van Rossom or Bojan Dubljevic. Rafa Martinez remains the only player with three EuroCup crowns, all of them with Valencia (2010, 2014, 2019).
- Albicy ranks second all-time in assists and steals. Albicy dished 686 assists, only trailing Stefan Markovic (698). Albicy is also second in steals at 211. Markovic is first with 214. Albicy could climb to the top of both all-time charts!
- Shurna ranks third all-time in games played (146), only trailing Toto Forray and Alen Omic, tied for first place with 148 games apiece. Shurna ranks ninth all-time in scoring (1,272 points) and sixth in rebounds (524). He also needs two three-pointers to reach 200, becoming the eighth player to do so.
- Salvo ranks third all-time in two-point shooting. He has hit 137 of 207 shots inside the arc (66.2% 2FG), only trailing 2009-10 EuroCup MVP Marko Banic (68.0% 2FG) and Ivan Zoroski (66.5%).
- Albicy is first in steals this season. He leads the competition with 1.9 steals per night.
- Coach Jaka Lakovic has a chance to win his second EuroCup title. He led Gran Canaria to glory in 2023. Only three coaches won multiple EuroCup titles: Rimas Kurtinaitis (Rytas 2009, Khimki 2012 and 2015), Joan Plaza (Real 2007, Unicaja 2017) and Evgeny Pashutin (UNICS 2011, Lokomotiv 2013).