2016-17Final FourCHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Fenerbahce Istanbul 80
Olympiacos Piraeus 64
May 21, 2017 CET: 20:00
Local time: 21:00 SINAN ERDEM DOME

Fenerbahce Istanbul joins list of EuroLeague champions!

Fenerbahce Istanbul has joined the list of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champions! Fenerbahce captured the 2017 crown by overpowering Olympiacos Piraeus 80-64 in the championship game at Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, Turkey on Sunday. Fenerbahce became the first Turkish team to win the EuroLeague title, after losing against CSKA in overtime in the championship game one year ago. Head coach Zeljko Obradovic added more hardware to his impressive legacy by lifting the trophy for the ninth team with five different teams. Kostas Sloukas and Pero Antic won their third EuroLeague title together, after back-to-back crowns with Olympiacos in 2012 and 2013. The Reds kept it close in the first half and trailed by 4 early in the second, but Fenerbahce broke the game open with an 11-2 third-quarter run and led by 18 early in the fourth quarter. Nikola Kalinic scored 17 points on 4-of-6 three-point shooting and Bogdan Bogdanovic also scored 17 for the winners. Luigi Datome scored 10 of his 11 points in the second half to help Fenerbahce pull away and Final Four MVP Ekpe Udoh posted 10 points, 9 rebounds and a EuroLeague championship game record 5 blocked shots. Fenerbahce outrebounded Olympiacos 40-30 and blocked 9 shots in a dominant effort in the paint. Khem Birch led Olympiacos with 14 points, Nikola Milutinov netted 10 and Vassilis Spanoulis finished with 9 points and 8 assists.

First quarter: Kalinic takes over, puts Fenerbahce in charge

Jan Vesely needed just four seconds to ignite the crowd with a reverse alley-oop dunk! Birch split free throws and a three-pointer by Kalinic gave Fenerbahce a 5-1 lead. Birch took over with a big slam and free throws by Spanoulis gave Olympiacos its first lead, 5-6. Vesely kept pushing Fenerbahce with a put-back slam and Kalinic hit from downtown for a 10-6 score. Bobby Dixon joined the three-point shootout and a red-hot Kalinic bettered Birch's free throws with a three-point play, boosting his team's lead to 16-8. Spanoulis buried a catch-and-shoot three and free throws by Birch brought Olympiacos within 16-13. Udoh swished a mid-range jumper and Bogdanovic did better with a bomb from downtown. Nikola Milutinov stepped up with a layup, but Kalinic downed a corner triple for a 24-15 Fenerbahce margin. Kostas Papanikolaou answered from downtown, but a buzzer-beating jumper by Bogdanovic fixed the score at 26-18 after 10 minutes.

Second quarter: Olympiacos hangs in

Luigi Datome split foul shots early in the second quarter and a three-pointer by Erick Green brought Olympiacos a bit closer, 27-21. Dominic Waters took over with a backdoor layup that James Nunnally matched with a close basket. Milutinov scored down low, but Bogdanovic's jumper restored a 6-point Fenerbahce lead, 31-25. Fenerbahce kept powering the offensive glass and a three-pointer by a red-hot Bogdanovic caused Olympiacos to stop the game at 34-25. Fenerbahce tried Bogdanovic at point guard and Udoh gave his team its first double-digit lead, 35-25. Georgios Printezis - who had been scoreless until then – buried a triple from the top of the key. Bogdanovic swished a floater right before picking up his third foul, which allowed Birch to keep Olympiacos within 37-29. Vangelis Mantzaris fired one in from downtown and Birch erased Dixon's floater with a buzzer-beating put-back basket that brought Olympiacos within 39-34 at halftime.

Third quarter: Fenerbahce builds up the lead

Dixon and Mantzaris traded three-pointers right after the break and Vesely banked in an incredible off-balance jumper for a 44-37 score. Mantzaris sent the Olympiacos fans to their feet with another three-pointer and Milutinov matched Vesely's free throws with an outstanding dunk that brought Olympiacos within 46-42. Kostas Sloukas struck from downtown – for his first points – to ignite the crowd at 49-42. Milutinov scored off a great post move, but free throws by Udoh and Datome restored a double-digit Fenerbahce lead, 54-44. Coach Obradovic tried a stronger frontline with Udoh and Pero Antic – on the floor for the first time in this Final Four – and Olympiacos struggled to score around the basket. Instead, Datome hit a triple for a 57-44 Fenerbahce lead. Olympiacos called timeout and Milutinov immediately dunked, but Antic and Datome answered for a 60-46 Fenerbahce advantage. Birch stepped up with a layup that got Olympiacos within 60-48 after 30 minutes.

Fourth quarter: Fenerbahce completes its mission

Birch scored around the basket early in the fourth quarter, but Datome did better with a corner three and Udoh added free throws to break the game open at 65-50. Bogdanovic found Antic for a bomb from downtown that prompted an Olympiacos timeout at 68-50 with eight minutes left. Printezis tried to change things with a layup and Olympiacos tried full-court pressure now. Udoh sank foul shots, Green buried a floater in the lane and a wide open triple by Bogdanovic sealed the outcome, 73-54, midway through the fourth quarter. Loyal to its tradition and character, Olympiacos did not stop trying until the final buzzer, but everything was said and done. Fenerbahce was about to join the list of EuroLeague champions.

Fenerbahce Istanbul is the new champ - Final Four Istanbul 2017
Sunday, May 21, 2017
Euroleague.net
Referees: HIERREZUELO, DANIEL; RYZHYK, BORYS; LATISEVS, OLEGS
Attendance: 15671
By Quarter1234
Fenerbahce Istanbul26132120
Olympiacos Piraeus18161416
End of Quarter1234
Fenerbahce Istanbul26396080
Olympiacos Piraeus18344864
Fenerbahce Istanbul
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
8 UDOH, EKPE 36:35 10 1/2   8/10 4 5 9 4     5   2 6 29
10 MAHMUTOGLU, MELIH 1:12                              
12 ANTIC, PERO 8:06 4 0/2 1/2 1/2   1 1 1       1 1 1 1
13 BOGDANOVIC, BOGDAN 25:35 17 4/8 3/7     5 5 1 1 2     3 2 13
15 BENNETT, ANTHONY 1:12                              
16 SLOUKAS, KOSTAS 24:22 3 0/2 1/2     1 1 5   1   1 2 1 3
21 NUNNALLY, JAMES 16:05 2 1/3       1 1       1   2    
24 VESELY, JAN 22:33 8 3/7   2/2 4 4 8 2     1   3 3 15
33 KALINIC, NIKOLA 28:06 17 2/2 4/6 1/1 1 4 5 5   1 1   3 2 24
35 MUHAMMED, ALI 13:08 8 1/2 2/6   1 1 2 2         1   6
44 DUVERIOGLU, AHMET 1:12                     1       1
70 DATOME, LUIGI 21:54 11 1/3 2/2 3/4 1 5 6   1 3     1 4 15
Team             2 2     1         1
Totals 200:00 80 13/31 13/25 15/19 11 29 40 20 2 8 9 2 18 19 108
        41.9% 52% 78.9%
Head coach: OBRADOVIC, ZELJKO
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
Olympiacos Piraeus
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 GREEN, ERICK 19:47 7 2/4 1/3     4 4         1   2 8
2 BIRCH, KHEM 17:20 14 4/4   6/8           1       5 16
4 YOUNG, PATRIC 3:08   0/1                 1   1   -1
5 TOLIOPOULOS, VASSILIS 1:25 3 0/1 1/2                 1      
6 PAPAPETROU, IOANNIS 12:06   0/1 0/1     2 2           2   -2
7 SPANOULIS, VASSILIS 30:55 9 0/5 2/7 3/3 1 1 2 8 2 2   3 3 2 5
9 WATERS, DOMINIC 6:02 2 1/2     1   1 1   1     1   1
10 AGRAVANIS, DIMITRIS 13:18     0/3     3 3 1 2       4 1  
11 MILUTINOV, NIKOLA 14:18 10 5/5   0/1 2 2 4 1 1       3 1 13
15 PRINTEZIS, GEORGIOS 26:42 7 2/7 1/2     1 1 1 1 1 1   2 3 5
16 PAPANIKOLAOU, KOSTAS 29:51 3 0/4 1/5   2 3 5 3 1     4 2 1 -1
17 MANTZARIS, VANGELIS 25:08 9 0/1 3/3     1 1 3         2 2 12
Team           4 3 7     1         6
Totals 200:00 64 14/35 9/26 9/12 10 20 30 18 7 6 2 9 20 17 62
        40% 34.6% 75%
Head coach: SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS

Head Coaches

OBRADOVIC, ZELJKO
Fenerbahce Istanbul
"I am very happy to be champion of Europe again. But more happy for Fenerbahce for being the champion for the first time in history. I want to thank the president and the board of the club for their trust. That we take this title is the result of the hard work from everybody in the club, starting with the people in the office to the coaching staff. But as always the glory goes to the players tonight. Before the Final Four it was easy to feel in all four corners of this city the Final Four. The fans here are always with us. This connection is very special. No club can be successful without the fans. This Final Four was special. I want to congratulate Olympiacos for making the final. They deserved to be here in the final. They had a great season. They have a great organization. Life goes on. Tonight we will be celebrating. I told my players they deserve that. But we have to recover and play in the playoffs. We are the champion of Turkey and we want to defend that title. Next year the Final Four will be in my city in Belgrade. After this season is over I will do everything I can so that we can go to the Final Four in my city…. [Udoh] deserved to be the MVP of the Final Four. His contribution to the team is really special. I have coached for 25 years. I don’t remember a lot of players who have concentration like him."
SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS
Olympiacos Piraeus
"I want to congratulate our players for bringing the team to the final. I am very proud of my players and how they played the whole season until now. We needed to win four knockout games to be champions. The playoffs when we were down 2-1 versus Efes. We tied the series and then won another knockout game. We came to the Final Four and won another knockout game in beating CSKA. We didn’t have a little something more to win the title. Of course, I am slightly disappointed about the result. But we also have a big pride about how we played this season – with the fact that the team came back to the Final Four and played in the final game. I want to congratulate Fenerbahce for being the EuroLeague champion. They deserved it. They played better in the second half. They got their trophy. The third period was crucial when we came to 4 points. We gave some fouls that sent them easily to the line. And from 4 points it went to 10 points on free throws. When they got the lead at 10 or 11 it was easier for them."

Players

UDOH, EKPE
Fenerbahce Istanbul
"It was a great game. Hats off to Olympiacos. They had a great year, but tonight it was about us. We had ups and downs. We knew that if we were healthy that we could win. Winning the EuroLeague is wining the EuroLeague. It doesn’t matter who you play against. If my mom was playing on the other team I would have tried to go after her too. This [MVP award] is for all the big guys out there, who have to hustle. I’m here for my teammates. That’s what the man next to me (Obradovic) wants me to do. And if I don’t, you know what will happen."
SLOUKAS, KOSTAS
Fenerbahce Istanbul
"It is unbelievable to win three EuroLeague titles, but it feels like the first time. Really, I am celebrating it as if it was the first time because I am very proud to be in the history of Fenerbahce and Turkish basketball. We are the first Turkish team to win the EuroLeague and this is very important. The key was the wish, the crowd and also, that everybody gave their souls on the court. We fought for every ball, played good defense and controlled the whole game. I think we deserved to be EuroLeague winners. Gigi cut his hair! He promised it and did it, like a real man!"
ANTIC, PERO
Fenerbahce Istanbul
"Man, this is incredible. It is always good to be here, but this time we were thirsty and angry from last year – and I am happy that I won a third EuroLeague for my third son. We had great team spirit and fought from the first second until the last. Congratulations to Olympiacos for their great season, we have great respect for them. We knew it was going to be difficult, but we wanted this a lot and like I said, we were thirsty since last year!"
BOGDANOVIC, BOGDAN
Fenerbahce Istanbul
"Finally! After two failures in the Final Four, this one was such an amazing Final Four for us. First of all, I would have to thank Fenerbahce's organization, our coaching staff, my teammates and my family, who supported me throughout the whole year, even in tough times. First of all, the key was to stop Spanoulis and I had a bad start against him on defense. After that, I was aware of the greatness he has and with the help of my teammates, we managed to stop him on the court today. That allowed us to win the game."
MAHMUTOGLU, MELIH
Fenerbahce Istanbul
"Lifting the EuroLeague trophy is the best thing. We played excellent defense and I hope we can continue like this because we still have to try to win the Turkish League. Thanks to our fans, they have been amazing. We managed to stop Spanoulis and Printezis today. Everybody played perfect and we were ready."
MUHAMMED, ALI
Fenerbahce Istanbul
"This is an unbelievable feeling. I have been waiting my whole life for a moment like this. Unbelievable feeling in front of our fans, for the country of Turkey. It is a great feeling. We are a great team when we lock in, as you can see. We are so close to being back-to-back champs. Last year we lost it, this year we captured the title. Great feeling."
KALINIC, NIKOLA
Fenerbahce Istanbul
“You can say and talk whatever you want, but nothing can replace this feeling. I did win some titles in my career so far, but nothing can compare to this. We worked really hard for this, and tonight we got our reward. We prepared really well, and we knew we are in good form. We are really happy, we did all we planned to do.”
NUNNALLY, JAMES
Fenerbahce Istanbul
“This is my first year in EuroLeague and I won the title. I guess I got to try to keep it going, because it is a great feeling. The fans are great. They speak for themselves. It was great to have all of them here.”
DUVERIOGLU, AHMET
Fenerbahce Istanbul
“For me this, this is the second year in EuroLeague. It is amazing. We are very happy. We worked hard for this every day since the summer. Fenerbahce was close to winning last year, but this year we won it. We deserve this title.”
BENNETT, ANTHONY
Fenerbahce Istanbul
"It has definitely been a crazy experience. Me being out there for the first time, in the EuroLeague, I definitely accomplished more than what people can say. Everybody went out there and played hard. Defense was the key; just going out there and outplaying them, keeping them off the offensive glass. Everybody did well!"
VESELY, JAN
Fenerbahce Istanbul
"Defense was the key and also to be focused 40 minutes, and we did it! It was a difficult road. Really, really difficult road. I think that last year's experience made us even stronger. We really wanted it this year and I am really happy for the team. This is an amazing feeling. Gigi [Datome] and Pero [Antic] had a bet about cutting his hair, I don't know if they made it last year or this year. We won the EuroLeague and he did it!"
GREEN, ERICK
Olympiacos Piraeus
"Defense was the big key; their defense is good. Udoh played a heck of a game; he controlled the game, all game. They outplayed us tonight and that is a part of life. It happens. We have to learn from this and move on. Being in the Final Four was an unbelievable experience. I don't know what my next move will be, but I would love to get the opportunity to fight in another EuroLeague Final Four again. We had a great season and came a long way as a team. We have been through a lot together – injuries, ups and downs – but we pulled together and beat a great team like CSKA to be in the championship game."
SPANOULIS, VASSILIS
Olympiacos Piraeus
"They played really good defense. We tried to play well and follow our game plan, but they made every shot. They shot extremely well for a final, especially from the three-point line. They outrebounded us and for sure, they played better than us and deserved to win. I have a lot of pride for this team; four EuroLeague finals in six years. It was not easy; it was the Final Four, but it was like playing at Fenerbahce's home. Imagine what would have happened if we played in our home in front of 15,000 fans. It would be a different game. They deserved it, played better, and we will try to be in the final against next season, to get another opportunity to win."
PAPANIKOLAOU, KOSTAS
Olympiacos Piraeus
"We played really good defense. We had a plan as a team that didn't work out in the beginning. They had some incredible percentages from the three-point line and overall, they played better than us and deserved the trophy; congratulations to Fenerbahce. We have to keep our heads up and keep pushing forward. I think that we made our fans proud for another year. We have to keep looking forward and move on. It is now very painful to be here after the loss. Of course, you feel bad because you were right there. I believe all of us will appreciate what we achieved for another year, in four, five months from now. We will cool down and think about this season, but right now, the feelings are very bad and it is logical to feel upset, angry, sad. We fought to be here for 10 months and when you miss the opportunity, it is very painful."
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