By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Hapoel Tel Aviv was the favorite and proved it beyond any doubt.
The Israelis won 103-94 on the road in Game 2 over Dreamland Gran Canaria. This is their first continental title, and for the first time, they will compete next season in the EuroLeague.
Anthony Blakeney, with 27 points, and Jonathan Motley, with 26, led the winners and set the tone early on. Motley also won the Finals MVP award, having also a big performance in Game 1.
“I was very confident in my team,” he told EuroLeague TV afterward.
“We worked real hard, we have a great locker room, everybody trusts each other, so right now I’m calm. I’m just glad we got it done. I envisaged myself doing the trophy thing all week. It’s just crazy that I’m in it right now. I’m just out of body right now, to be honest.”
George Conditt, with 18 points, was the top scorer of the hosts, who simply couldn’t keep up.
Coach Itoudis making history
Dimitris Itoudis became the fourth coach to win the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and EuroCup, joining the late Dusan Ivkovic, David Blatt, and Ergin Ataman.
“This team has made a lot of people proud”, said Itoudis after the game and explained how difficult it was to make it all happen after taking the job mid-season.
Αs he said: “I am blessed because I have worked with many big coaches and many big players. I have been around trophies, but I never arrived in the middle of a season, so congratulations go to coach Stefanos Dedas and to the GM Giorgos Chinas for building this team”.
Specifically about being part of a selected club of just four coaches, Itoudis added: “You know my relationship with the late Duda and his family, and being among other great coaches like David and Ergin, it’s another blessing”.
A dominant performance
Hapoel led from wire to wire, jumping into a 29-21 lead after the first period and keeping it until the end.
The halftime score was 53-44, and the champions entered the last quarter leading by 12 (86-74).
Entering the last minute, Mehdy Ngouama made a three and trimmed the lead to seven (101-94), but this was just the best the hosts could do.
“It was well deserved, they were the better team”, admitted Gran Canaria coach Jaka Lakovic and added: “The game didn’t start well for us, they were aggressive and couldn’t match them”.
Photo credit: EuroCup