The 2018 Basketball Champions League (BCL) Final Four was the second

Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL), also commonly known as the FIBA Champions League, is an annual professional basketball competition for European sports club, clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the European professional club basketball system ...

tournament. It was the concluding phase of the

2017–18 Basketball Champions League The 2017–18 Basketball Champions League was the second season of the Basketball Champions League (BCL), a European-wide professional basketball competition for clubs, that was launched by FIBA. The competition began on 19 September 2017, with th ...

season.

Venue

The O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall hosted the final tournament for the first time.

Teams

Road to the Final Four

Background

MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg

Ludwigsburg qualified for its first ever final phase of a European competition, as in the 2016–17 season they were eliminated by Banvit on a

buzzer-beater In timed sports, a buzzer beater is a successful shot made as the clock expires at the end of a period or at the end of the game, leaving zero seconds remaining. A buzzer sounds whenever a game clock expires, hence the name "buzzer beater." In b ...

. In the

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the German basketball league system, highest level Sports league, league of professional club basketball in German ...

(BBL), Riesen was having a solid year as it was battling for playoff position. In the BCL play-offs, Riesen eliminated two German sides,

EWE Baskets Oldenburg Baskets Oldenburg, for sponsorship reasons EWE Baskets Oldenburg, is a professional basketball club that is based in the city of Oldenburg, Germany. The club plays in the Bundesliga. The club's name is derived from the team's main sponsor EWE AG ...

and

medi Bayreuth Medi Bayreuth, official stylized as medi bayreuth, is a German professional basketball club that is based in Bayreuth, Germany. It was re-founded as BBC Bayreuth in 1999. The team plays in the ProA, the second-highest division of basketball in Ge ...

in order to advance to the final four.

Monaco

Monaco was at the top of the standings in its domestic Pro A season. In February, Monaco won the

Leaders Cup The Leaders Cup, sometimes referred to as the French Basketball League Cup and previously known as the Tourney des As Cup and Semaine des As Cup, is the annual national league cup competition for teams from the top-tier level of French profession ...

for its third consecutive time. In the previous season, the team also qualified for the Final Four but was eliminated in the semi-finals, by runners-up Banvit.

AEK Athens

AEK was having a successful season as well, as the team captured its fourth

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

title, while beating

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

teams

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

and

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club based in the City of Athens. Panathinaikos is one of the mos ...

on the way. AEK had a remarkable path to the final four, as it was nearly eliminated in the round of 16 but was saved by a three-pointer by Kevin Punter to defeat Czech side

ČEZ Nymburk Basketball Nymburk, also known as ERA Nymburk due to sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in the town of Nymburk. The club plays in the top-tier level professional Czech National League (NBL). Nymburk regularly pl ...

. In the quarter-finals, AEK eliminated French side

SIG Strasbourg Strasbourg Illkirch-Graffenstaden Basket, most commonly known as SIG Basket or SIG Strasbourg, is a French professional basketball club that is based in Strasbourg. The club, founded in 1929, competes domestically in the French Pro A League. The ...

. Guard

Manny Harris Corperryale Lādorable "Manny" Harris (born September 21, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for Al Riyadi Beirut of the Lebanese Basketball League. He has previously played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and D ...

was named the Basketball Champions League MVP as well.Harris named MVP of the season
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UCAM Murcia

In its first BCL season, and just its second year ever playing in European competitions, Murcia eliminated the defending champions

Iberostar Tenerife Club Cantera Base 1939 Canarias S.A.D., commonly known as CB Canarias and known as La Laguna Tenerife for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain. Domestically, the team plays in the top- ...

in the round of 16. In the quarter-finals,

Pınar Karşıyaka Pınar is a common feminine Turkish given name A Turkish name consists of an ''ad'' or an ''isim'' (given name; plural ''adlar'' and ''isimler'') and a ''soyadı'' or ''soyisim'' (surname). Turkish names exist in a "full name" format. While th ...

was defeated. In the

2017–18 ACB season The 2017–18 Liga ACB, ACB season, also known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, was the 35th season of the Spanish basketball league. It started on 29 September 2017 with the first round of the regular season and ended on 19 June 2018 with ...

, Murcia was close to qualifying to the playoffs.

Bracket

Semifinals

MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg vs Monaco

AEK Athens vs UCAM Murcia

Third place game

Final

References

External links

Basketball Champions League
(official website) {{DEFAULTSORT:2018 Basketball Champions League Final Four

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

International sports competitions hosted by Greece Sports competitions in Athens