2017-18FinalsGame 2
Darussafaka Istanbul 67
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 59
April 13, 2018 CET: 19:15
Local time: 20:15 VOLKSWAGEN ARENA

Darussafaka takes 7DAYS EuroCup title with sweep!

Darussafaka Istanbul is the new 7DAYS EuroCup champion and is heading next to the 2018-19 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague! Darussafaka ended a half-century drought without trophies by winning Game 2 of the finals 67-59 over visiting Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar on Friday before an amazing crowd at Volkswagen Arena. The victory gave the new champions a 2-0 sweep of the series after Darussafaka had won Game 1 in Krasnodar on Tuesday by rallying for an overtime victory that ended Lokomotiv's record 20-game perfect start to the season. Scottie Wilbekin scored 19 points in the first half alone on in Game 2 on Friday and finished with 28 to earn the 7DAYS EuroCup Finals MVP award. Lokomotiv tied 33-33 just before Wilbekin and Kartal Ozmizrak hit three-pointers in the first half's final minute to give Darussafaka a lead that would stretch to 49-37 midway through the third quarter and 55-45 when it ended. It was still a double-digit difference, 58-48, with 5 minutes left. Lokomotiv got within 58-54, but Wilbekin stepped up with a huge triple with 2 minutes left that sealed the deal and the title. Wilbekin was joined in double figures by Will Cummings with 10 points, while JaJuan Johnson had 8 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. Joe Ragland led Lokomotiv with 18 points while Brian Qvale added 12, but the points after them were few and far between for the visitors. Darussafaka became the second Turkish team to win the competition, after Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul in the 2015-16 season, and earned the right to participate in the 2018-19 EuroLeague. Darussafaka boss David Blatt became the second head coach ever to win the EuroLeague and EuroCup titles, after Dusan Ivkovic. Blatt was the EuroLeague champion in 2014 while coaching Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Dmitry Kulagin got Lokomotiv going with a turnaround jumper but Wilbekin answered with a driving layup and Micheal Eric scored down low for a 4-2 Darussafaka edge. Ragland followed free throws with a driving layup but Wilbekin struck from downtown to put Darussafaka ahead again, 7-6. Trevor Lacey answered from beyond the arc but so did Howard Sant-Roos and Baygul to boost the hosts' margin to 13-9. Qvale hit back-to-back jump hooks for Lokomotiv but Stanton Kidd and Cummings scored in penetration as Darussafaka stayed in front, 17-13. Kulagin scored twice around the basket before JaJuan Johnson hit a jumper and Wilbekin made an acrobatic, buzzer-beating runner for a 21-17 Darussafaka margin after 10 minutes. Mardy Collins found his first points early in the second quarter and Lacey downed a jumper for the guests, but an unstoppable Wilbekin answered with a triple, a driving basket and a free throw, all good for a 27-21 lead. Qvale kept pacing Lokomotiv with consecutive baskets, making Darussafaka call timeout at 27-25. Sant-Roos buried a three-pointer but free throws by Collins and a floater by Pavel Antipov got Lokomotiv within 30-29. Wilbekin downed one from beyond the arc but another close basket by Qvale and free throws by Kulagin tied it at 33-33. Wilbekin - who else? - sank another triple and Ozmizrak copied him at the halftime buzzer for a 39-33 Darussafaka lead at the break.

Collins and Johnson traded jumpers soon after the break. Collins kept pacing Lokomotiv with a jumper from the elbow but free throws by Furkan Aldemir and a triple by Cummings made it a nine-point game, 46-37. Lokomotiv called timeout before free throws by Aldemir and Johnson made it a double-digit game, 49-37. Ragland followed a three-pointer with a layup off a steal and soon added a driving basket to bring Lokomotiv back to life, 49-44. Wilbekin reappeared then to make 6 of 6 free throws to boost his team's lead to 55-45 after 30 minutes. Ragland buried a triple early in the fourth quarter but Cummings erased it with a layup-plus-free throw. Lokomotiv struggled to score for several minutes, missing 8 consecutive shots and picking up a turnover on Frank Elegar's fourth foul. Darussafaka still led 58-48 midway through the final quarter before Chris Babb drilled a wing triple and Ragland's bank shot made it 58-53 with 3:37 to play. Qvale hit 1 of 2 free throws next, but Wilbekin responded with a long isolation triple at 61-54 with 2 minutes left. Johnson and Ragland traded layups, but now only 37 seconds remained and the difference was still 6 points, 63-57. Cumming scored then as Lokomotiv's defense took chances, and free throws by Sant-Roos extended the lead to 67-59 with 26 seconds left, triggering celebrations throughout Volkswagen Arena.

Darussafaka Istanbul Champ EuroCup 2017-18 - EuroCup Finals 2018 - EC17
Friday, April 13, 2018
Eurocupbasketball.com






Referees: PEREZ, MIGUEL ANGEL; BOLTAUZER, MATEJ; DIFALLAH, MEHDI
Attendance: 0 (Tentative)
By Quarter1234
Darussafaka Istanbul21181612
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar17161214
End of Quarter1234
Darussafaka Istanbul21395567
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar17334559
Darussafaka Istanbul
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 KIDD, STANTON 24:37 2 1/1       3 3     1     2   2
1 WILBEKIN, SCOTTIE 34:22 28 3/4 5/8 7/8       1 2 2     2 8 30
3 OZMIZRAK, KARTAL 0:29 3   1/1                       3
5 BAYGUL, MUHAMMED 7:05 3 0/1 1/1     1 1     1     3   -1
9 KOSUT, EMIRCAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12 CUMMINGS, WILL 19:18 10 3/5 1/4 1/1   3 3 1       1 3 3 8
13 ULUBAY, OKBEN 24:08     0/4     1 1 4         1 1 1
18 OZDEMIROGLU, DOGUS 0:47     0/1                       -1
19 ALDEMIR, FURKAN 9:28 3     3/4 1 1 2 1   2     4 2 1
23 SANT-ROOS, HOWARD 33:12 8 0/4 2/5 2/2 1 5 6 2 2 1     2 3 11
25 JOHNSON, JAJUAN 34:45 8 3/8 0/1 2/2 2 9 11 1 1 2 2   1 3 17
50 ERIC, MICHAEL 11:49 2 1/5   0/2 2 1 3     1 1 2 2 3 -2
Team           2 1 3     1         2
Totals 200:00 67 11/28 10/25 15/19 8 25 33 10 5 11 3 3 20 23 71
        39.3% 40% 78.9%
Head coach: BLATT, DAVID
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 COLLINS, MARDY 30:19 8 3/8 0/5 2/2   5 5 3 1 2 1   2 3 7
2 ANTIPOV, PAVEL 18:57 2 1/1     1 2 3 1   1         5
3 RAGLAND, JOE 30:24 18 5/10 2/7 2/2 2   2   2 1     3 3 11
4 BABURIN, EVGENY 1:52           2 2 1             3
7 LACEY, TREVOR 22:53 6 1/2 1/2 1/2 3 7 10     2     2 2 11
10 IVLEV, VLADIMIR 1:28                   1     1   -2
12 ILNITSKIY, STANISLAV 4:14                         2 1 -1
13 KHVOSTOV, DMITRY 6:29                         1   -1
15 ELEGAR, FRANK 15:09 2 1/3     1 2 3   2 2 2 1 4 2 2
19 BABB, CHRIS 18:39 3 0/1 1/4     1 1     1     4 1 -4
22 KULAGIN, DMITRY 26:13 8 3/8 0/1 2/2 2 5 7 2   1   1 3 3 9
41 QVALE, BRIAN 23:23 12 5/8   2/4 3 1 4 1       1 1 5 15
Team           2 1 3     1         2
Totals 200:00 59 19/41 4/19 9/12 14 26 40 8 5 12 3 3 23 20 57
        46.3% 21.1% 75%
Head coach: OBRADOVIC, SASA

Head Coaches

BLATT, DAVID
Darussafaka Istanbul

"I think that during the season, although we lost a couple games, in those we played without Scottie Wilbekin and played without [JaJuan Johnson], so I think that we were every bit as good during the season as we were in the finals. When you get to the finals, it's really about which team comes in the best way and in the best shape. We had a really good run before the finals. And what can I tell you? I've been fortunate in my career to be part of a lot of championship teams. This group and this competition in particular are very, very special – something kind of innocent, something kind of new – and I am proud of my players for what they gave and what they did. They committed to excellence. It's not about the result. It's about the day-to day and what you commit to. And we were the better team and we deserve to be where we are.”

"First of all, even to be mentioned in same sentence as Dusan Ivkovic is very, very honorable for me. But today, honestly, it's about the players. We didn't have a single guy who won a European competition or even won a local title except for perhaps one. So they've now created their own legacy. Dacka in their history had never won a European championship and I'm just proud for them and happy to be a part of it."

"I am so happy and proud for the Darussafaka organization, the Darussafaka school, and for the program that we have been able to create. When I came to Dacka last season, the idea was to create a sustainable and a representative team and group that would represent the ideals of Dacka and Darussafaka. I'm proud and happy to say that I think we've done that. I've long believed that results don't lead; they follow. They follow a commitment to excellence, a willingness to sacrifice, to work together, to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts -- and ultimately to enjoy the process and find the results that come from the right way of doing things. I've been very fortunate in my career to be a part of many championship teams. This for me will be one of the most memorable and special because I know where we started and I know how hard the guys, the players here worked in order to reach this level. I congratulate them. I congratulate our general manager, Mithat Demirel, who really put this together. And I thank all the people that followed this team, that supported us on our journey. And I'm glad to say that we have made history as a team in doing something that has never been done before for this organization. And it just feels great."

OBRADOVIC, SASA
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar
"First of all, congratulations to Darussafaka for winning the EuroCup. I cannot complain. I cannot say anything bad to my players. We can have a deeper analysis but, like other teams, we had a problem with Wilbekin. He scored unbelievable shots in some situations. Honetsly, he was the one who made the difference for Darussafaka. For us, I have to say we did a great job all season, playing on a consistent level. We got 20 wins getting to the finals, which I think is hard to repeat. We missed this last step to finish a great season. Anyway, like I said, I cannot be unsatisfied even when this is a bitter moment. We were so close to grabbing the trophy and we didn't. Now we have to keep forward and maybe in the next occasion, through the VTB, we can go to the EuroLeague. I think we paid [a high price for our lack of experience]. Mardy played the EuroCup Finals and lost it two years ago, but none of these players got in a situation to win it in their careers. For most of them, it was a completely new situation to handle. Like I said, we were too close. We played even better in the first game, but this is a school and you have to play as a team. I think all of them learned and will be much better in the future in the big games."

Players

ALDEMIR, FURKAN
Darussafaka Istanbul
"I wanted to lift the trophy with Scottie (Wilbekin) and Dogus (Ozdemiroglu). Scottie is our second captain and had an unbelievable game in such an important game for Darussafaka. I am so happy! We fought all season long and I cannot say much more, other than our fans were amazing! With their help, this team can do much more and fight for big goals, in Europe and in Turkish basketball."
CUMMINGS, WILL
Darussafaka Istanbul
"It is a great feeling, I cannot describe it! It is my first championship professionally and it is a great feeling. We have a great group of guys. We stuck with it and got the job done in the fourth quarter, so it feels great. Not giving up was the key! We made sure we came here locked in, ready and focused. We defended well and scored in the right moments – and we did it! We have to celebrate, for sure!"
SANT-ROOS, HOWARD
Darussafaka Istanbul
"I still don't believe it! I am looking at the medal and I don't believe it, but it is ours! It is an amazing feeling for me and for Cuban basketball. I have no words! We won the EuroCup! It is amazing. We never gave up, especially in Game 1, which was unbelievable. We knew we have to protect our home court. We didn't want to go back to Russia – and we made it!"
KIDD, STANTON
Darussafaka Istanbul
"We played against an unbelievable team, really good. We are just happy that we could get it done on our home court. We were on a mission to try to get Game 1 to get back home and play in our home spot. Now we got it! Scottie is amazing – always! Every time he steps on the floor, he plays hard and plays well. He delivered all season. He deserves the MVP trophy and everything that is coming his way. Our fans were off the charts! Crazy! I love these guys.”
WILBEKIN, SCOTTIE
Darussafaka Istanbul

"We just did what we always do, played tough, played hard defense, and trusted how we got here. A lot of character. It wasn't easy to get to the finals. We had two tough series, especially the second one against Bayern Munich. So we were battle-tested. We'd been in close games. We'd been down before, we came back, we showed that we can win any type of game. And now we're here. We're champions now!"

"It was a great game, a great series. Lokomotiv is a great team, and they played great defense. But we played great defense too, and we played great defense all year. And we're really close as a team. I think that's why we won the game."

"It really wasn't hard [to motivate myself]. I just wanted to win. I didn't need more motivation than that. It's a good honor to be MVP, but I am just happy that we won. You can't get the MVP without winning."

ERIC, MICHAEL
Darussafaka Istanbul
"It feels amazing, obviously. You see the atmosphere. I'm just thankful, first of all. Thank god for giving me the abilities to leave Nigeria, go to university in the U.S., and play basketball for a living. Not a lot of people can say that. My wife just had a baby recently, and she's been there from day one. This is for her, too. This is a team. A second-half team, never gives up. Incredible atmosphere. Scottie is a prime-time player. I haven't seen that in a long time and I don't think I'll ever see that kind of player again."
JOHNSON, JAJUAN
Darussafaka Istanbul
"It's an amazing feeling. We talked about this from the beginning of the season, and to have one of your dreams come true is an amazing feeling right now. I'm at a loss for words, really. But it's all about these guys. We stuck together all season long and I couldn't be happier to play with this team."
ANTIPOV, PAVEL
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar
"Where we lacked tonight was on the offensive end. We didn't execute too well. We should have relied more on a fast-paced game, more fastbreaks, more distributing the ball. But somehow we stuck to one-on-one offense. I can certainly say that Darussafaka studied us well defensively, and we certainly encountered a strict system that they followed. They really neutralized our strong sides. But I wouldn't say we went down easy. We fought til the end and we didn't miss by a lot of points."
COLLINS, MARDY
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar
"They won. They were better. They won. There's nothing you get from losing. I don't get anything from this. We lost the series in 11 seconds [in Game 1]. We lost the series right there. We tried to stay mentally strong and come out here ready. But those 11 seconds you can't get back, and that was crucial."