2014-15FinalsGame 2
Khimki Moscow Region 83
Herbalife Gran Canaria 64
April 29, 2015 CET: 18:30
Local time: 19:30 BASKETBALL CENTER OF MOSCOW REGION

Khimki Moscow Region pockets second Eurocup crown!

Khimki Moscow Region is the 2014-15 Eurocup champion and will play in the 2015-16 Turkish Airlines Euroleague. Khimki swept Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas in the two-game finals to conquered its second Eurocup title. Khimki defeated Gran Canaria 83-64 at Basketball Center Moscow Region on Wednesday to seal the series after winning the opening game by 25 at Gran Canaria. The victory marked a record third Eurocup crown for head coach Rimas Kurtinaitis, who led Khimki to its first Eurocup title in 2012 and won it with Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius in 2009. Tyrese Rice was named Eurocup Finals MVP after starring once again with 16 points and 6 assists for the winners. James Augustine did not miss a shot en route to 18 points, while Paul Davis shined with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals and Petteri Koponen added 13 points. Walter Tavares paced Gran Canaria with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks and Brad Newley scored 12. Davis and Rice shined early to give Khimki a 13-6 lead. An outstanding James Augustine gave the hosts to get a 27-18 advantage after 10 minutes. Khimki improved its defense and kept running its offense through Davis and Augustine. A three-pointer by Rice boosted his team's lead to 45-30 at halftime and Khimki cruised after that with plenty of time to prepare for the title celebrations.

First quarter: Khimki rolls again

Davis got Khimki going with free throws, as just in Game 1. A three-pointer by Rice soon gave the hosts a 5-0 lead. Tavares shined with a put-back slam, which Sergey Monia erased with a mid-range jumper. Tavares shined with another put-back dunk, before Davis sank a jump hook. Levon Kendall made a five-meter jumper to keep Gran Canaria within 9-6. Egor Vyaltsev stepped up with a second-chance basket, which Rice followed with a coast-to-coast layup for a 13-6 Khimki lead. The guests kept struggling to score until Oriol Pauli nailed a six-meter jumper. Koponen struck from downtown off the dribble, but so did Tomas Bellas. Augustine scored around the basket and matched Ian O'Leary's layup with an alley-oop slam. After Txemi Urtasun hit a mid-range jumper, Maksim Sheleketo hit a corner triple. Urtasun downed a jumper, but Davis and Augustine gave Khimki a 27-18 advantage after 10 minutes - making it a 34-point series lead.

Second quarter: Augustine shines, Khimki stays way ahead

Both teams struggled to score early in the quarter until Davis buried a mid-range jumper that made it a double-digit game, 29-18. Gran Canaria tried to push the game tempo, but kept missing shots. Meanwhile, Augustine dunked again. The guests were held scoreless for more than three minutes, which caused Coach Aito Garcia Reneses to call timeout. Newley tried to change things with a jumper, but didn't find much help around. Meanwhile, a fast break layup by Rice set a 33-20 Khimki advantage. Eulis Baez beat the shot clock with a long two-pointer, but Koponen did better with a step-back triple. Kendall scored down lown, but Augustine soon made it a 41-point series. Kyle Kuric shined with a two-handed slam and a jump hook by Tavares saw Khimki call timeout at 40-28. Rice fed Augustine for another dunk and improved Baez's free throws with a triple from the top of the key, good for a 45-30 Khimki lead at halftime.

Third quarter: A basketball party for Khimki fans

Kuric struck from downtown immediately after the break and Tavares split free throws, but a fast break layup by Stanislav Ilnitskiy restored a 47-34 Khimki lead. Rice buried his trademark five-meter jumper off the dribble. Baez and Davis exchanged jumpers and a corner three by Vyalstev made it an 18-point game. The Khimki fans were already celebrating the title, but both teams kept fighting for a prestigious win. Tomas Bellas scored in transition, but Augustine quickly answered with a reverse layup and free throws by Newley kept Gran Canara within 58-42. Rice scored again, before Newley hit more free throws. A backdoor layup by Davis kept Khimki fully in charge. Kendall and Koponen exchanged foul shots and a huge dunk by Davis made it a 20-point game. Augustine made free throws for a 68-46 advantage.

Fourth quarter: Khimki is the Eurocup champ!

Newley stepped up with a layup early in the quarter and Tavares split foul shots to make it 68-49. Khimki tried to open the floor with Monia at power forward, as its three main players tonight - Rice, Davis and Augustine - rested on the bench. Koponen nailed his third triple and even though Newley answered with a quick basket, a put-back slam by Ruslan Pateev gave the hosts a 73-51 margin. Nothing changed in the final six minutes, as Khimki fans and players were already celebrating. Gran Canaria had a bitter end to an otherwise fantastic Eurocup season and Khimki was crowned as the Eurocup champion for the second time in club history!

Tyrese Rice Finals MVP - Khimki Moscow Region champ Eurocup 2014-15 - Finals 2015 in Khimki, Moscow Region - EC14
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Eurocupbasketball.com
Referees: PUKL,SASA; JOVCIC, MILIVOJE; FOUFIS, IOANNIS
Attendance: 3850 (Tentative)
By Quarter1234
Khimki Moscow Region27182315
Herbalife Gran Canaria18121618
End of Quarter1234
Khimki Moscow Region27456883
Herbalife Gran Canaria18304664
Khimki Moscow Region
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 RICE, TYRESE 19:56 16 5/8 2/6     3 3 6 1 4       3 18
5 AUGUSTINE, JAMES 19:11 18 7/7   4/4       1 2       1 2 22
6 POPOVIC, MARKO 22:10 2 1/2 0/4   1 1 2 7 2 3     4 1 2
7 PATEEV, RUSLAN 8:27 2 1/2     2   2     1     1   1
8 KOPONEN, PETTERI 27:00 13 0/1 3/6 4/4   5 5 4   1       4 21
9 VIALTSEV, EGOR 24:27 7 2/4 1/1     3 3 2 1       4   7
11 ILNITSKIY, STANISLAV 17:46 2 1/2 0/2     1 1         1 4   -5
12 MONIA, SERGEY 24:23 2 1/1 0/2   1 3 4 1     1   2   4
34 SAKHAROV, MAXIM DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
40 DAVIS, PAUL 21:16 16 7/12   2/4 5 5 10 2 3 2 1 2 3 2 20
45 SHELEKETO, MAKSIM 15:24 5 1/3 1/1   2 4 6           4   5
Team           1   1     2         -1
Totals 200:00 83 26/42 7/22 10/12 12 25 37 23 9 13 2 3 23 12 94
        61.9% 31.8% 83.3%
Head coach: KURTINAITIS, RIMAS
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
Herbalife Gran Canaria
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 OLIVER, ALBERT 20:47   0/1 0/2     2 2     3     3 1 -6
8 NEWLEY, BRAD 26:30 12 3/6   6/6   2 2 1 1 1   1 1 6 16
10 URTASUN, TXEMI 14:03 5 2/5 0/1 1/2 1   1 1   3       1  
11 BELLAS, TOMAS 27:07 5 1/6 1/4     5 5 4         3   3
13 BAEZ, EULIS 25:09 6 2/4 0/3 2/2 2 3 5 3 2 2   1 1 3 10
14 KENDALL, LEVON 21:34 6 2/4   2/2 3 3 6 1 3 2 1   1 4 16
15 PORTUGUES, JOAQUIN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
21 PAULI, ORIOL 4:25 3 1/1   1/2                   1 3
22 TAVARES, WALTER 21:31 17 5/10   7/10 6 4 10     1 2   2 7 25
24 KURIC, KYLE 27:08 8 1/8 2/4   1 1 2 2   2         1
25 O'LEARY, IAN 11:46 2 1/2 0/1                   1   -1
35 SUMMERS, DAJUAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team           4   4     1         3
Totals 200:00 64 18/47 3/15 19/24 17 20 37 12 6 15 3 2 12 23 70
        38.3% 20% 79.2%
Head coach: GARCIA RENESES, AITO

Head Coaches

KURTINAITIS, RIMAS
Khimki Moscow Region
"I want to thank my players for the big effort they put out in both games. Game 1 was a perfect one for us. Game 2 was a little bit easier due to the 25-point lead we had from the game in Gran Canaria. It was not as complicated as Game 1, but it was not easy to motivate my players to play Game 2. It was a great result and defense really made the difference in this series. We allowed Gran Canaria to score 66 points in Game 1 and 64 tonight. The final result does not show what a great team Gran Canaria is. They paid a high price in this series for their lack of experience. I believe that with an experienced coach like Aito Garcia Reneses, they won't have much problems to go back to the Spanish League playoffs. They are a much better team than what they showed in these two games."
GARCIA RENESES, AITO
Herbalife Gran Canaria
"First, I want to congratulate Khimki. They deserved to win; they played an incredible final. It’s sad to lose a final, but this is not a time to be sad. This is a time to evaluate the season. We reached the Eurocup Finals and to be the Eurocup runner-up is something very, very important. This is not the time to look at the mistakes we made during the game, but a moment to improve and for Herbalife Gran Canaria to be in the finals is a great success. Khimki has a very quick team; it is very difficult to defend them. They are a very strong team. And they have great shooters and were making three-pointers even when we played great defense. That makes a big difference. "

Players

RICE, TYRESE
Khimki Moscow Region
"I thought we defended really well playing against a team that really likes to move the ball. Playing big and backdoor cuts and all these things. I thought we defended really well for two games by holding them to only 66 and 64 points and you know, the way we play, we can score against pretty much anybody. So this was, I think, the turning point in the series. We did exactly what we needed to do. We took care of our business and ended up on top. We take every game seriously. We don’t look at point spread or margin or anything like that. We go game by game and we want to win. Preparing ourselves for this game wasn’t hard because of the mentality of our players and the mentality of our coaches. They don’t expect anything less of us, so we know we have to come out here and win the game. To come out here and lose by 20 points wouldn’t have given us satisfaction. We wanted to come here and win and make a statement that we belong here and that we belong in the Euroleague. "
DAVIS, PAUL
Khimki Moscow Region
"We said in the locker room after the first game, ‘we’re gonna stay focused all week.’ We didn’t want to play into this lead, because with a team like that, anything can happen. We did what we wanted to do. We played it like it was a championship game 0-0. It didn’t matter who we played; we were on a mission all year and we finally accomplished it. I’ve been on the other side and I remember it was a terrible feeling. So I wanted to do everything I could and I think every guy had their own role. Every guy here deserved the cup and we got it. "
AUGUSTINE, JAMES
Khimki Moscow Region
"We played great as a team. We wanted to be champions and we played both games great. We showed a lot of heart. They played good, but we played really hard, we played great. We had a tough time last year when we lost in the first round, and every round was hard for us. But we fought through some hard times. We have a great team, a great coaching staff, great fans and it worked out for us. "
VIALTSEV, EGOR
Khimki Moscow Region
"It’s incredible. Everybody is happy. For me it’s very important to do this. God blessed us. We were going for this all year and it was hard work. I love my family, they prepared me for this: my mother and father, my beautiful wife and child. I want to thank everybody, the staff, the club, the people who came. This is very important for us. "
KOPONEN, PETTERI
Khimki Moscow Region
"I won a couple championships in Finland; I won Euro Challenge, now Eurocup. Next step Euroleague. It always feels great! You never get used to winning. It’s a long season, long road. Of 44 teams, we are the best. And it’s always best to win the championship in front of our great fans. "
URTASUN, TXEMI
Herbalife Gran Canaria
"Without any kind of doubt, Khimki was the best team out there and were better than us in the Finals. We haven't found the way to compete against them the way we managed to compete against everyone else throughout the rest of the season. Congratulations to them; we have to learn from this, it was our first time at this level and we can use this experience in the future. Still, we had a great Eurocup season. We broke a Eurocup record for most wins in a season and that says it all."
NEWLEY, BRAD
Herbalife Gran Canaria
"We tried hard. Once again we made some mistakes and they cost us the match. We’re a small club and today we showed Europe that we can play with the best. Unfortunately, the last two games didn’t go as planned, but we have to move forward. It was a great season for the club. Now everybody knows who Gran Canaria are and we want to keep it that way. "
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