May 19, 2014 - Rice is bwin MVP of 2014 Final Four
Tyrese
Rice showed he has the heart of a champion in leading Maccabi Electra
Tel Aviv to the 2014 Turkish Airlines Euroleague title. His incredible
effort also resulted in being selected bwin MVP of 2014 Final Four in a
vote by accredited media members at the Final Four. Rice scored 21 of
his 26 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, including 14 in the
extra session in Maccabi’s 98-86 victory over Real Madrid in the
Turkish Airlines Euroleague Championship Game. The 26 points scored
were 1 point shy of the record of 27 held by five players, most
recently by Manu Ginobili in 2002. Rice was 9 of 9 from the free throw
line, which was just one fewer than the record of most free throws made
without a miss set by Elmer Bennett in 2001. Read more here.
May 19, 2014 - Navarro becomes Final Four three-point king
Juan
Carlos Navarro of FC Barcelona added to his legend on Sunday at the
Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four in Milan. Navarro made 3
three-pointers in his team’s 93-78 victory over CSKA Moscow in the
Third Place Game Sunday at Mediolanum Foum, thus becoming the
three-point king of the Final Four. Navarro has now made 31 career
threes in eight Final Fours. He surpassed retired CSKA Moscow great JR
Holden, who had 30 over his standout career. Navarro made 1 triple in
the semifinals t. Navarro, the Euroleague’s all-time leading scorer,
has made 31 of 73 three-point attempts (42.5%) at Final Fours. He
finished Sunday’s game with 20 points to lead all scorers. Read more here.
May 18, 2014 - Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv is the new king of Europe!
The city of Milan was painted yellow on Sunday as
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv bested Real Madrid 98-86 in overtime for its
sixth European championship! After hitting the game-winning layup in
the semifinals, Tyrese Rice, who scored 21 of his 26 points in the
fourth quarter and overtime, was named the bwin MVP for the 2014 Final
Four. Tel Aviv shook off three consecutive losses in the Euroleague
Championship Game to become the 2014 Turkish Airlines Euroleague
champion. Some 10,000 Maccabi fans flooded the stands at Mediolanum
Forum and practically willed Coach David Blatt’s team to victory. It
was the first Championship Game to go to overtime since 1969 between
CSKA Moscow and Real Madrid. The instant classic of a game featured 19
lead changes and seven ties after halftime alone. Read more here.
May 18, 2014 - Navarro makes history as Barcelona claims third place
Juan
Carlos Navarro added to his legend by leading FC Barcelona to a 93-78
victory over CSKA Moscow on Sunday in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague
Final Four Third Place Game at Mediolanum Forum in Milan. Navaro scored
20 points and made 3 of 5 three pointers. Those results helped him
become the career leader in three-pointers made at the Final Four with
31, which is 1 more than retired CSKA great J.R. Holden, who now sits
in second place. Navarrro also moved up to fourth on the career Final
Four scoring charts with 168points. Maciej Lamp added 17 points, Joey
Dorsey stood tall with 9 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks and
Marcelinho Huertas delivered 7 points and 7 assists for the winners.
Sasha Kaun netted 13 for CSKA and Nenad Krstic 11. CSKA lead early, but
Navarro lead Barcelona back in the second quarter. Barcelona built on
that with a strong second half as the lead grew to 19 en route to a
season-ending victory. Read more here.
May 17, 2014 - Championship Game preview: Real Madrid vs. Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
A
brilliant 2013-14 Turkish Airlines Euroleague season will come to an
end in style with a historical showdown between Real Madrid and Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv in the Euroleague Championship Game at Mediolanum
Forum in Milan, Italy on Sunday. These two clubs are the definition of
a historic international basketball rivalry. This will be their 50th
meeting since their first on February 2, 1968 – and it will be in the
best possible scenario, for the title. Those 50 games represent the
most games in Euroleague history between teams from two different
countries. And more often than not, Madrid and Maccabi have met in the
season's hottest moments. For the first 20 years of the rivalry, they
played 27 times - all in quarterfinals, semifinals or their one and
only continental title game, which Madrid won 89-85 in 1980. Most
recently, Maccabi beat Madrid in the 2011 Euroleague semifinals, but
Los Blancos have won the teams' last six matchups, including two in
this year's Top 16. Read more here.
May 16, 2014 - Semifinals
Real Madrid routs Barcelona to make history
Real
Madrid returns to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four
Championship Game for a second straight year after once again beating
fierce El Clasico rival FC Barcelona 100-62 in Friday’s semifinals at
Mediolanum Forum in Milan. El Clasico turned into a 38-point blowout,
which was the largest margin of victory ever in a Euroleague semifinal
in the Final Four era, surpassing Barcelona’s 101-67 defeat at the
hands of Maccabi Tel Aviv in 1991. Madrid broke the game wide open with
a 26-1 run spanning the third and fourth quarters. After losing to
Olympiacos in last season’s title game, Madrid this time hopes to claim
record title number nine; Madrid will take on Maccabi Tel Aviv in
Sunday’s championship game, looking to snap its 19-year drought. Madrid
advanced to its 16th Euroleague final, which is also the new standard.
Freshly crowned bwin MVP Sergio Rodriguez paced Madrid with 21 points
and 6 assists. Read more here.
Maccabi rallies from 15 down to stun CSKA, advance to championship game!
Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv booked its date with basketball history on Friday as
the five-time continental champion fought back from a 15-point deficit
late in the third quarter to beat CSKA Moscow 67-68. Tyrese Rice’s
basket with 5.5 seconds left secured Maccabi its spot in Sunday’s
Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four Championship Game. In the
semifinal showdown at the Mediolanum Forum in Milan with CSKA - a
rematch of the 2006 and 2008 Euroleague finals - Tel Aviv’s David Blu
scored 15 points including 4 three-pointers which jumped him to a tie
for seventh place on the list of most triples made at Final Fours. Blu
has made 18 of 34 in seven Final Four games. Rice finished with 13
points while Ricky Hickman and Alex Tyus both scored 10 points. Maccabi
will be playing in its 15th final and shooting for its first title
since 2005. Read more here.
May 16, 2014 - Final Four semifinals: what the world is waiting for!
Here
it is… what each and every Turkish Airlines Euroleague fans has been
waiting for: the 2014 Final Four at Mediolanum Forum in Milan, Italy!
Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, CSKA Moscow and Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
will challenge for the Euroleague title after surviving their
respective playoffs series. Madrid is trying to win its ninth
Euroleague title. It leads the all-time list with eight championships,
but only one of them came in the last three decades. CSKA looks for its
seventh Euroleague title in its 11th Final Four appearance in 12 years.
Maccabi is back in the Final Four for the first time since 2011. The
Israeli powerhouse has won its last five semifinal games and looks for
its first title since 2005. Barcelona is in its 14th Final Four – more
than any other team since the format was permanently chosen in 1987-88
– and wants to lift the Euroleague trophy for the third time in club
history. Read more here.
May 15, 2014 - EFES Euroleague Awards Ceremony triggers start of Milan Final Four
Sergio
Rodriguez received his award for a fantastic season when he was named
2013-14 bwin MVP at the EFES Euroleague Awards Ceremony held at Piazza
Duomo. The ceremony was one of the first official acts of the Turkish
Airlines Euroleague Final Four in Milan and saw the hierarchy of
European basketball join together to celebrate the best of the past
season before looking forward to this weekend’s games to crown a new
Euroleague champion. Rodriguez was joined on stage by the rest of the
All-Euroleague First Team, but the point guard basked in the most
glory. Real Madrid teammate Rudy Fernandez, Alphonso Ford Top Scorer
Trophy winner Keith Langford of EA7 Emporio Armani MIlan, Sonny Weems
of CSKA Moscow and Ante Tomic of FC Barcelona Regal stood alongside
Rodriguez as the All-Euroleague First Team. Read more here.
May 15, 2014 - Rodriguez voted bwin MVP of the 2013-14 Turkish Airlines Euroleague
Euroleague
Basketball is pleased to announce that Sergio Rodriguez has been voted
the bwin MVP for the 2013-14 season. Rodriguez received his MVP trophy
Thursday at the EFES Euroleague Awards Ceremony at Piazza del Duomo,
where he was honored alongside his fellow members of the 2013-14
All-Euroleague First Team. The ceremony was one of the first official
acts of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four in Milan. Rodriguez
was chosen league MVP in voting conducted among fans and journalists
from across Europe and beyond. Rodriguez rose above by playing a
brilliant campaign even though he came off the bench as a substitute in
every one of Madrid's Euroleague contests. He embraced his role as a
supersub, whether coming on court to join the starters or taking
control the go-to scorer and passer with Madrid's second unit. Read
more here.
May 14, 2014
Semifinal preview: CSKA Moscow vs. Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
The 2014 Turkish
Airlines Euroleague Final Four starts with a rematch of the 2006 and
2008 Euroleague finals, as CSKA Moscow and Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
face each other in a Final Four for the first time in six years. CSKA
beat Maccabi twice this season and handed the Israeli powerhouse one of
its toughest losses in European competition – 100-65 in Moscow.
Naturally that game will be on the back of both teams' minds even
though this is a completely different situation. CSKA and Maccabi face
each other for the 31st time – not counting no-show games - in European
competition. CSKA leads the all-time series 16-15. CSKA big man Kyle
Hines has a unique chance for a historic three-peat – something that
only Sarunas Jasikevicius has done since Spilt won its third
consecutive Euroleague title in 1991. Read more here.
Semifinal preview: FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid
El Clasico returns to the Final Four for the second
consecutive season, as Real Madrid takes on archrival FC Barcelona in
the second Turkish Airlines Euroleague semifinal at Mediolanum Forum in
Milan, Italy, on Friday. Madrid and Barcelona have faced each other
more than 200 times over more than seven decades, but this will be just
their third matchup in a Final Four environment. It is the 20th matchup
between the teams in European competitions; Barcelona leads the
all-time series 12-7. It is also the sixth showdown between both teams
this season; Madrid is 4-1 against Barcelona in 2013-14. However, none
of their showdowns this season will be more important than this. Kostas
Papanikolaou, one of the four Euroleague Rising Star award winners in
this game, of Barcelona can win his third consecutive Euroleague title
– something can only Sarunas Jasikevicius has done since 1991. Read
more here.
May 8, 2014 - 2013-14 All-Euroleague First and Second Teams announced
Just
before the basketball world turns its attention to Milan for the 2014
Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four, Euroleague Basketball is
pleased to honor 10 of the stars that made this season so spectacular,
the 2013-14 All-Euroleague First and Second Teams. To select them, tens
of thousands of fans from around the globe were able to cast votes for
their favorite players, as did media members from each of the countries
with Euroleague teams. The All-Euroleague selections feature players
from seven teams and five players who appear among the competition's
best for the first time. The All-Euroleague First Team features five
superstars from four different teams: Sergio Rodriguez and Rudy
Fernandez from Real Madrid, Keith Langford from EA7 Emporio Armani
Milan, Sonny Weems from CSKA Moscow and Ante Tomic from FC Barcelona.
Read more here.
May 8, 2014 - Officials for 2014 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four announced
Euroleague Basketball has selected eight of the
leading referees in the sport of basketball as the officials for the
2014 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four. Seven of the eight have
previous experience refereeing a Final Four, including three who
oversaw games at last season’s Final Four in London. The full list of
referees is made up by Ilija Belosevic from Serbia, Christos
Christodoulou from Greece, Milivoje Jovcic from Serbia, Robert
Lottermoser from Germany, Rustu Nuran from Turkey, Sasa Pukl from
Slovenia, Fernando Rocha from Portugal and Borys Ryzhyk from Ukraine.
Belosevic and Ryzhyk were both on the crew that worked last season’s
championship game, while Lottermoser staffed the third-place game. Read
more here.
May 7, 2014 - Euroleague coaches choose Partizan's Bogdanovic for Rising Star Trophy
The
basketball factory that is Partizan NIS Belgrade has its second
Euroleague Rising Star Trophy winner, 21-year-old guard Bogdan
Bogdanovic, who has been voted the best young performer of the 2013-14
season by Turkish Airlines Euroleague head coaches. Bogdanovic excelled
in his first season as a Euroleague starter, ranking among the league
leaders in scoring and steals while also leading his team in assists
and three-pointers made. The Rising Star Trophy recognizes the best
Euroleague player each season who was under the age of 22 on July 1 of
the summer before the season started. After becoming a full-time
contributor with Partizan a year ago, Bogdanovic made the
transformation into a true Euroleague star already in his second full
season in the competition. He stood out as one of the most prolific
scorers in the competition, while becoming the youngest player this
century to make at least 50 three-point shots in a single Euroleague
season. Read more here.
May 6, 2014 - Coaches vote Bryant Dunston of Olympiacos this season's Best Defender
After
putting together one of the more memorable rookie seasons in
competition history, Bryant Dunston of Olympiacos Piraeus has been
voted the 2014 Best Defender Trophy winner by Turkish Airlines
Euroleague head coaches. The Best Defender Trophy is the second in a
string of 2013-14 EFES Euroleague Awards to be revealed this week.
Dunston, 27, stepped into a difficult role as a rookie of whom much was
expected for the back-to-back Euroleague champs. He responded with
greatness. Dunston earned weekly bwin MVP honors three times and led
the competition with 1.3 blocks per game. He also became the first
player in the Euroleague this century to compile at least 30 blocks and
30 steals in a single season. Dunston had five games where he combined
multiple blocks and steals as the anchor of the Reds' interior defense,
which allowed only 46.5% of two-point shots in the regular season and
then lowered that number to a league-best 45.8% in the Top 16. Read
more here.
May 5, 2014 - Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy goes to Keith Langford, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
The
first of the 2013-14 EFES Euroleague Awards, the Alphonso Ford Top
Scorer Trophy, has been won by EA7 Emporio Armani guard Keith Langford,
whose point-scoring exploits this season helped bring an unheralded
team to the brink of a surprise Final Four appearance. The Ford Trophy
is awarded to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague player who averages the
most points over a minimum number of games. It is the only
end-of-season award based solely on statistics, and by peppering
baskets across Europe for 17.56 points over 24 games this season,
Langford left no doubt about who deserved it most. Langford was a
devastating weapon for Milan all season long; he scored in double
figures in every game of the Top 16 and playoffs, scored in the 20s
nine times and reached at least 28 points on four occasions. It is the
first Ford Trophy for Langford, who has averaged more points than any
other Euroleague player over the past five seasons. Read more here.
May 2, 2014 - Road to Milan: Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
One
of the winningest franchises in European basketball, Maccabi Electra
Tel Aviv checks into Milan for its 12th Final Four appearance and first
in three years since reaching the championship game in 2011. The only
team this season to win a playoff series without home-court advantage
and the only team in Milan that did not participate at last season's
Final Four, Maccabi has been battle tested all season long. The Israeli
powerhouse proved to be a feisty bunch, playing more close games than
any other team this season. Among those were two dramatic road
victories that helped pave the way to this stage, with the last one an
improbable playoff comeback that took place in Mediolanum Forum – on
the exact same floor where European basketball's showcase event will
take place. Maccabi's journey to Milan featured a strong start and
strong finish. Read more here.
May 1, 2014 - Road to Milan: CSKA Moscow
When
it comes to consistent excellence in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague
this century, one name leads the list: CSKA Moscow. A perennial
Euroleague favorite, CSKA used another phenomenal season to return to
the Final Four for the 11th time in the last 12 years, a record of
consistency unmatched in the history of Europe's signature basketball
event. But any impression that the Final Four would not be the same
without CSKA's presence belies the great work this club does to meet
its own high expectations, again and again. CSKA's status as a title
threat was only enhanced by its preseason victory over Minnesota of the
NBA and an overtime loss to San Antonio in the 2013 Euroleague
Basketball US Tour. Two defeats in its first four Euroleague regular
season games may have raised doubts, but by the Top 16, CSKA had truly
hit its stride. Its always-solid defense was complemented fully by a
well-oiled offense as CSKA broke the Euroleague record for average
assists in the Top 16. Read more here.
May 1, 2014 - Road to Milan: Real Madrid
With
eight continental crowns on display in its trophy case, Real Madrid is
already the most successful club in Euroleague history. Los Blancos
land in Milan boasting a high-octane offense that has been too much to
handle for just about every team on the continent. On the strength of
that daunting attack – and the team's second-best defensive effort this
century – Madrid looks to make its third Final Four appearance in the
last four years truly memorable by winning its first Euroleague title
since 1996. Entering the Final Four, Madrid has already broken the
Euroleague's single-season record for points and the single-game record
for fewest turnovers, just 2 against the top-ranked defense of CSKA
Moscow, another Final Four team. Evidence of its dominance abounds, as
Madrid leads all Euroleague teams in performance index rating, points
scored, three-point shots made, rebounds, blocks, steals, free throw
percentage and assist-to-turnover ratio, among other statistical
categories. Read more here.
April 29, 2014 - Road to Milan: FC Barcelona
In
a memorable season that saw it become the first club to play 300
Euroleague games this century, FC Barcelona comes to Milan in search of
the grand prize. In the Final Four for a 13th time – and the fifth in
six seasons – Barcelona is aiming to add a third Euroleague trophy to
those it raised in 2003 and 2010. From the start of this season,
Barcelona has been a team to fear. With experienced veterans, Barcelona
seemed to get better by the week and dominated the toughest part of the
season. It won its first 12 games in the Top 16 and came unscathed
through some of the competition's toughest road tests – Piraeus,
Athens, Istanbul and Vitoria – to secure the top spot in Group E with
two games to spare. By routing Panathinaikos Athens 84-62 in Top 16
Round 12, Barcelona set Euroleague records with 24 consecutive Top 16
wins and 31 straight Top 16 home triumphs. Read more here.
April 25, 2014 - 2014 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four in Milan is sold out!
Euroleague Basketball has announced that all
available seats for the 2014 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four in
Milan have been sold, assuring that European basketball’s premier event
will once again be played to a packed house. The Final Four will take
place from May 16 to 18 in Milan, Italy, at Mediolanum Forum. The arena
seats a capacity of 12,086, with the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final
Four configuration, though some of those seats are reserved for
qualifying teams, media and guests. Devoted basketball fans from Europe
and beyond will converge in Milan next month for a thrilling weekend
during which the 2014 Euroleague champion will be crowned. Read more here.
April 14, 2014 - Turkish
Euroleague Airlines Final Four 2014 presented in Milan!
The
one-month countdown to the best weekend in world basketball began
Monday in Milan, Italy with the official presentation of the Turkish
Euroleague Airlines Final Four 2014, which from May 16 to 18 will be
the first event of its kind ever held in the global capital of fashion.
On the eve of playoffs to decide which teams shall compete to become
Euroleague champion, a press conference revealing new Final Four
details on Monday was followed by an unprecedented gathering of local
sports stars and legends from the One Milan legacy project of
Euroleague Basketball's corporate social responsibility program, One
Team. Read more here.
Tyrese
Rice showed he has the heart of a champion in leading Maccabi Electra
Tel Aviv to the 2014 Turkish Airlines Euroleague title. His incredible
effort also resulted in being selected bwin MVP of 2014 Final Four in a
vote by accredited media members at the Final Four. Rice scored 21 of
his 26 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, including 14 in the
extra session in Maccabi’s 98-86 victory over Real Madrid in the
Turkish Airlines Euroleague Championship Game. The 26 points scored
were 1 point shy of the record of 27 held by five players, most
recently by Manu Ginobili in 2002. Rice was 9 of 9 from the free throw
line, which was just one fewer than the record of most free throws made
without a miss set by Elmer Bennett in 2001. Read more 
Juan
Carlos Navarro of FC Barcelona added to his legend on Sunday at the
Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four in Milan. Navarro made 3
three-pointers in his team’s 93-78 victory over CSKA Moscow in the
Third Place Game Sunday at Mediolanum Foum, thus becoming the
three-point king of the Final Four. Navarro has now made 31 career
threes in eight Final Fours. He surpassed retired CSKA Moscow great JR
Holden, who had 30 over his standout career. Navarro made 1 triple in
the semifinals t. Navarro, the Euroleague’s all-time leading scorer,
has made 31 of 73 three-point attempts (42.5%) at Final Fours. He
finished Sunday’s game with 20 points to lead all scorers. Read more 
A
brilliant 2013-14 Turkish Airlines Euroleague season will come to an
end in style with a historical showdown between Real Madrid and Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv in the Euroleague Championship Game at Mediolanum
Forum in Milan, Italy on Sunday. These two clubs are the definition of
a historic international basketball rivalry. This will be their 50th
meeting since their first on February 2, 1968 – and it will be in the
best possible scenario, for the title. Those 50 games represent the
most games in Euroleague history between teams from two different
countries. And more often than not, Madrid and Maccabi have met in the
season's hottest moments. For the first 20 years of the rivalry, they
played 27 times - all in quarterfinals, semifinals or their one and
only continental title game, which Madrid won 89-85 in 1980. Most
recently, Maccabi beat Madrid in the 2011 Euroleague semifinals, but
Los Blancos have won the teams' last six matchups, including two in
this year's Top 16. Read more 
Real
Madrid returns to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four
Championship Game for a second straight year after once again beating
fierce El Clasico rival FC Barcelona 100-62 in Friday’s semifinals at
Mediolanum Forum in Milan. El Clasico turned into a 38-point blowout,
which was the largest margin of victory ever in a Euroleague semifinal
in the Final Four era, surpassing Barcelona’s 101-67 defeat at the
hands of Maccabi Tel Aviv in 1991. Madrid broke the game wide open with
a 26-1 run spanning the third and fourth quarters. After losing to
Olympiacos in last season’s title game, Madrid this time hopes to claim
record title number nine; Madrid will take on Maccabi Tel Aviv in
Sunday’s championship game, looking to snap its 19-year drought. Madrid
advanced to its 16th Euroleague final, which is also the new standard.
Freshly crowned bwin MVP Sergio Rodriguez paced Madrid with 21 points
and 6 assists. Read more 
Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv booked its date with basketball history on Friday as
the five-time continental champion fought back from a 15-point deficit
late in the third quarter to beat CSKA Moscow 67-68. Tyrese Rice’s
basket with 5.5 seconds left secured Maccabi its spot in Sunday’s
Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four Championship Game. In the
semifinal showdown at the Mediolanum Forum in Milan with CSKA - a
rematch of the 2006 and 2008 Euroleague finals - Tel Aviv’s David Blu
scored 15 points including 4 three-pointers which jumped him to a tie
for seventh place on the list of most triples made at Final Fours. Blu
has made 18 of 34 in seven Final Four games. Rice finished with 13
points while Ricky Hickman and Alex Tyus both scored 10 points. Maccabi
will be playing in its 15th final and shooting for its first title
since 2005. Read more 
Here
it is… what each and every Turkish Airlines Euroleague fans has been
waiting for: the 2014 Final Four at Mediolanum Forum in Milan, Italy!
Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, CSKA Moscow and Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
will challenge for the Euroleague title after surviving their
respective playoffs series. Madrid is trying to win its ninth
Euroleague title. It leads the all-time list with eight championships,
but only one of them came in the last three decades. CSKA looks for its
seventh Euroleague title in its 11th Final Four appearance in 12 years.
Maccabi is back in the Final Four for the first time since 2011. The
Israeli powerhouse has won its last five semifinal games and looks for
its first title since 2005. Barcelona is in its 14th Final Four – more
than any other team since the format was permanently chosen in 1987-88
– and wants to lift the Euroleague trophy for the third time in club
history. Read more 
Sergio
Rodriguez received his award for a fantastic season when he was named
2013-14 bwin MVP at the EFES Euroleague Awards Ceremony held at Piazza
Duomo. The ceremony was one of the first official acts of the Turkish
Airlines Euroleague Final Four in Milan and saw the hierarchy of
European basketball join together to celebrate the best of the past
season before looking forward to this weekend’s games to crown a new
Euroleague champion. Rodriguez was joined on stage by the rest of the
All-Euroleague First Team, but the point guard basked in the most
glory. Real Madrid teammate Rudy Fernandez, Alphonso Ford Top Scorer
Trophy winner Keith Langford of EA7 Emporio Armani MIlan, Sonny Weems
of CSKA Moscow and Ante Tomic of FC Barcelona Regal stood alongside
Rodriguez as the All-Euroleague First Team. Read more 
Just
before the basketball world turns its attention to Milan for the 2014
Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four, Euroleague Basketball is
pleased to honor 10 of the stars that made this season so spectacular,
the 2013-14 All-Euroleague First and Second Teams. To select them, tens
of thousands of fans from around the globe were able to cast votes for
their favorite players, as did media members from each of the countries
with Euroleague teams. The All-Euroleague selections feature players
from seven teams and five players who appear among the competition's
best for the first time. The All-Euroleague First Team features five
superstars from four different teams: Sergio Rodriguez and Rudy
Fernandez from Real Madrid, Keith Langford from EA7 Emporio Armani
Milan, Sonny Weems from CSKA Moscow and Ante Tomic from FC Barcelona.
Read more 
The
basketball factory that is Partizan NIS Belgrade has its second
Euroleague Rising Star Trophy winner, 21-year-old guard Bogdan
Bogdanovic, who has been voted the best young performer of the 2013-14
season by Turkish Airlines Euroleague head coaches. Bogdanovic excelled
in his first season as a Euroleague starter, ranking among the league
leaders in scoring and steals while also leading his team in assists
and three-pointers made. The Rising Star Trophy recognizes the best
Euroleague player each season who was under the age of 22 on July 1 of
the summer before the season started. After becoming a full-time
contributor with Partizan a year ago, Bogdanovic made the
transformation into a true Euroleague star already in his second full
season in the competition. He stood out as one of the most prolific
scorers in the competition, while becoming the youngest player this
century to make at least 50 three-point shots in a single Euroleague
season. Read more 
After
putting together one of the more memorable rookie seasons in
competition history, Bryant Dunston of Olympiacos Piraeus has been
voted the 2014 Best Defender Trophy winner by Turkish Airlines
Euroleague head coaches. The Best Defender Trophy is the second in a
string of 2013-14 EFES Euroleague Awards to be revealed this week.
Dunston, 27, stepped into a difficult role as a rookie of whom much was
expected for the back-to-back Euroleague champs. He responded with
greatness. Dunston earned weekly bwin MVP honors three times and led
the competition with 1.3 blocks per game. He also became the first
player in the Euroleague this century to compile at least 30 blocks and
30 steals in a single season. Dunston had five games where he combined
multiple blocks and steals as the anchor of the Reds' interior defense,
which allowed only 46.5% of two-point shots in the regular season and
then lowered that number to a league-best 45.8% in the Top 16. Read
more 
The
first of the 2013-14 EFES Euroleague Awards, the Alphonso Ford Top
Scorer Trophy, has been won by EA7 Emporio Armani guard Keith Langford,
whose point-scoring exploits this season helped bring an unheralded
team to the brink of a surprise Final Four appearance. The Ford Trophy
is awarded to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague player who averages the
most points over a minimum number of games. It is the only
end-of-season award based solely on statistics, and by peppering
baskets across Europe for 17.56 points over 24 games this season,
Langford left no doubt about who deserved it most. Langford was a
devastating weapon for Milan all season long; he scored in double
figures in every game of the Top 16 and playoffs, scored in the 20s
nine times and reached at least 28 points on four occasions. It is the
first Ford Trophy for Langford, who has averaged more points than any
other Euroleague player over the past five seasons. Read more 
One
of the winningest franchises in European basketball, Maccabi Electra
Tel Aviv checks into Milan for its 12th Final Four appearance and first
in three years since reaching the championship game in 2011. The only
team this season to win a playoff series without home-court advantage
and the only team in Milan that did not participate at last season's
Final Four, Maccabi has been battle tested all season long. The Israeli
powerhouse proved to be a feisty bunch, playing more close games than
any other team this season. Among those were two dramatic road
victories that helped pave the way to this stage, with the last one an
improbable playoff comeback that took place in Mediolanum Forum – on
the exact same floor where European basketball's showcase event will
take place. Maccabi's journey to Milan featured a strong start and
strong finish. Read more 
When
it comes to consistent excellence in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague
this century, one name leads the list: CSKA Moscow. A perennial
Euroleague favorite, CSKA used another phenomenal season to return to
the Final Four for the 11th time in the last 12 years, a record of
consistency unmatched in the history of Europe's signature basketball
event. But any impression that the Final Four would not be the same
without CSKA's presence belies the great work this club does to meet
its own high expectations, again and again. CSKA's status as a title
threat was only enhanced by its preseason victory over Minnesota of the
NBA and an overtime loss to San Antonio in the 2013 Euroleague
Basketball US Tour. Two defeats in its first four Euroleague regular
season games may have raised doubts, but by the Top 16, CSKA had truly
hit its stride. Its always-solid defense was complemented fully by a
well-oiled offense as CSKA broke the Euroleague record for average
assists in the Top 16. Read more 
With
eight continental crowns on display in its trophy case, Real Madrid is
already the most successful club in Euroleague history. Los Blancos
land in Milan boasting a high-octane offense that has been too much to
handle for just about every team on the continent. On the strength of
that daunting attack – and the team's second-best defensive effort this
century – Madrid looks to make its third Final Four appearance in the
last four years truly memorable by winning its first Euroleague title
since 1996. Entering the Final Four, Madrid has already broken the
Euroleague's single-season record for points and the single-game record
for fewest turnovers, just 2 against the top-ranked defense of CSKA
Moscow, another Final Four team. Evidence of its dominance abounds, as
Madrid leads all Euroleague teams in performance index rating, points
scored, three-point shots made, rebounds, blocks, steals, free throw
percentage and assist-to-turnover ratio, among other statistical
categories. Read more 
In
a memorable season that saw it become the first club to play 300
Euroleague games this century, FC Barcelona comes to Milan in search of
the grand prize. In the Final Four for a 13th time – and the fifth in
six seasons – Barcelona is aiming to add a third Euroleague trophy to
those it raised in 2003 and 2010. From the start of this season,
Barcelona has been a team to fear. With experienced veterans, Barcelona
seemed to get better by the week and dominated the toughest part of the
season. It won its first 12 games in the Top 16 and came unscathed
through some of the competition's toughest road tests – Piraeus,
Athens, Istanbul and Vitoria – to secure the top spot in Group E with
two games to spare. By routing Panathinaikos Athens 84-62 in Top 16
Round 12, Barcelona set Euroleague records with 24 consecutive Top 16
wins and 31 straight Top 16 home triumphs. Read more 
The
one-month countdown to the best weekend in world basketball began
Monday in Milan, Italy with the official presentation of the Turkish
Euroleague Airlines Final Four 2014, which from May 16 to 18 will be
the first event of its kind ever held in the global capital of fashion.
On the eve of playoffs to decide which teams shall compete to become
Euroleague champion, a press conference revealing new Final Four
details on Monday was followed by an unprecedented gathering of local
sports stars and legends from the One Milan legacy project of
Euroleague Basketball's corporate social responsibility program, One
Team. Read more 
