By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
ATHENS – Opening the Basketball Champions League Final Four powered by Sunel, Galatasaray was on the winning end of a crazy battle with La Laguna Tenerife, celebrating a 90-80 victory in Sunel Arena.
After falling into a 15-point hole in the first half, the Lions stormed back behind Ebuka Izundu and punched a ticket to the championship game in Athens on Sunday. Dominating in the paint, the 28-year-old center made 10/11 two-pointers en route to 21 points, including ten in the third period. Grabbing ten rebounds shaped a double-double.
In his 12th straight BCL double-digit scoring showing, Will Cummings shared a game-high 21 points. James Palmer Jr. recovered from a rocky first half to put in a third double-digit tally with 15 points, including eight over the last ten minutes to keep his side at a safe distance. In addition to Rob Gray recently joining the injury list, Otis Livingston II and Can Korkmaz remained sidelined on the Turkish side. Samet Geyik and youngster Yaman Alisan were left out of the rotation.
A buzzer-beating triple by Lluis Costa to end the first quarter opened a four-point lead for Tenerife, following four lead changes through the opening ten minutes. The 32-year-old set the pace for a 15-point advantage in the second quarter, but a 12-0 run by the players guided by Yakup Sekizkok kept it close going into the halftime break. After extending a furious rally with an improved defensive effort, Galata built a 12-point lead in the third period. The margin went up to 18 points in the fourth quarter.
Marcelinho Huertas tallied a team-high 18 points on the losing end and climbed to second on the all-time scoring table of the Champions League. Joining his longtime sidekick on another list, Giorgi Shermadini became the second player with 100 career points in the Final Four, early in the Semifinal of the Final Four 2025, and recorded 11 points on Friday. Costa finished with 12 points.
Limited to 6/29 from beyond the arc, a perfect campaign across 14 games in the 2024-25 installment of FIBA Europe’s top-tier club continental competition ended for Tenerife. Henri Drell and injured Fran Guerra were out for the team coached by Txus Vidorreta, and Joan Sastre did not play.
Photo Credit: FIBA