MACCABI ELECTRA 70-78 PANATHINAIKOS
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Panathinaikos won its sixth Euroleague title on Sunday evening by holding off Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 70-78 in the championship game of the 2011 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four at Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona. Dimitris Diamantidis starred with 16 points and 9 assists becoming only the third person in history to win Final Four MVP honors twice and setting and tying breaking a pair of assists records along the way. Mike Batiste added 18 points, Drew Nicholas scored 14 and Romain Sato 13 to lead a well-balanced team effort. The win also adds a title for Panathinaikos’s Zeljko Obradovic, who was already the winningest head coach in Euroleague history and now owns eight rings – the last five all with the Greens. Maccabi, which was also targeting a sixth continental crown, got 17 points and 7 rebounds from Chuck Eidson. David Blu added 14, Jeremy Pargo scored 12 and dished 9 assists and Lior Eliyahu also netted 12. Diamantidis made sure to ice the game with a pass inside to Batiste for a crucial basket and a steal and free throws with 55 seconds to go, signaling that it was time to start the celebrations.

INTERVIEW: DIMITRIS DIAMANTIDIS OF PANATHINAIKOS

In the annals of elite basketball, perhaps no player ever has enjoyed such a successful weekend as Dimitris Diamantidis of Panathinaikos Athens did earlier this month at the 2011 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four. By the time he left Barcelona late Sunday night, he was carrying five personal trophies: those of Best Defender, All-Euroleague First Team, Turkish Airlines Euroleague MVP, Final Four MVP and his personal-sized replica of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague championship cup. It was the full-size version of that cup, however, that mattered most to Diamantidis. As the Panathinaikos captain, he was handed the weekend's biggest trophy first, but called on the team's longest-serving players, Kostas Tsarsaris and Mike Batiste, to help him lift it. The gesture explained a lot about how Diamantidis – who also set a Final Four record with 18 assists while joining Dejan Bodiroga and Toni Kukoc as the only two-time MVPs of the event – thinks about the game of basketball. "The biggest honor for me is that my team has conquered the Euroleague title six times, and on three occasions I was there to celebrate," Diamantidis told Euroleague.net. "I think that is the most important issue. When your career ends what matters is always the titles you have conquered with your team."

Dimitris, did you have enough room for all the trophies that you took home from Barcelona?

"Yes, I do have enough room…(laughing). There is room for every single one of them. There was no problem."

Has it crossed your mind that maybe no pro athlete ever has received so many trophies in 24 hours?

"I didn't even think about it. The only thing that was 'bothering' my mind was the Euroleague title. Before the game, how we would end up with the title, and after the game, that we did it. This was the thought running through my mind, before and after; the same thing, our goal. Yes, I did earn some personal distinctions and I am happy for them, but I cared about the title of the team. I wanted most of all to see Panathinaikos nail the Euroleague title – nothing else." ...More Interview