The 2019 EuroLeague Final Four was the concluding

EuroLeague Final Four The EuroLeague Final Four is the final four format championship of the European-wide top-tier level EuroLeague professional club basketball competition. The Euroleague Basketball Company used the final four format for the first time in 2002, fo ...

tournament of the

2018–19 EuroLeague The 2018–19 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague was the 19th season of the modern era of Euroleague Basketball and the eighth under the title sponsorship of the Turkish Airlines. Including the competition's previous incarnation as the FIBA Europe Champi ...

season, the 62nd season of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

's premier club

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

tournament, and the 19th season since it was first organised by

Euroleague Basketball Euroleague Basketball, run by Euroleague Commercial Assets (ECA), is a private company that runs and operates men's professional basketball club competitions in Europe, the first-tier level EuroLeague, and the second-tier level EuroCup. It has ...

. It was the 32nd Final Four of the modern EuroLeague Final Four era (

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

–present), and the 34th time overall that the competition has concluded with a

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 ...

format. The Final Four was played at the Fernando Buesa Arena in

Vitoria-Gasteiz Vitoria-Gasteiz (; ; also historically spelled Vittoria in English) is the seat of government and the capital city of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country and of the provinces of Spain, province of Álava in northern Spain. I ...

, Spain, on 17 and 19 May 2019.

Venue

On May 15, 2018,

announced that the Final Four will be held in the Fernando Buesa Arena in

. It was the first time ever the event would be hosted in Vitoria. The arena hosted the 1996

FIBA Saporta Cup The FIBA Saporta Cup, founded as ''FIBA European Cup Winners Cup'', was the name of the second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winners, from all over Europe, played against eac ...

Final, in which local Saski Baskonia won the title and also hosted the

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/ref> The Final Eight of the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

(Spanish Cup) was played four times at Buesa Arena (

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and

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).Eurocup'96
On 9 April 2012, at the game of Caja Laboral against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, Fernando Buesa Arena registered the record of attendance in a basketball game of the Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

with 15,504 spectators.

Background

Real Madrid

Real Madrid failed to defend the title after finishing the regular season in the third position, with a 22–8 record, and being the first qualified team by beating Panathinaikos OPAP 3–0 in the playoffs. This was their seventh Final Four in the last nine editions and the third consecutive. Coach

Pablo Laso Pablo Laso Biurrun (born 13 October 1967) is a Spanish professional basketball coach and former player who is the current head coach for Saski Baskonia of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He was the head coach of Real Madrid for eleven s ...

could have won his third title in his sixth Final Four appearance.

Bracket

Semifinals

Semifinal A

Turkish champions Fenerbahçe Beko returned to the Final Four to make it their fifth straight appearance. Led by head coach

Željko Obradović Željko Obradović ( sr-cyrl, Желимир "Жељко" Обрадовић, ; born 9 March 1960) is a Serbian professional basketball Coach (basketball), coach and former professional player who is the head coach for KK Partizan, Partizan of the ...

, the all-time record holder for most EuroLeague championships won by a head coach, it defeated Žalgiris Kaunas 3–1 in the play-offs, to clinch a semi-final spot.

Anadolu Efes Anadolu Efes Spor Kulübü, commonly referred to as Anadolu Efes or simply Efes, is a Turkish professional basketball team based in Istanbul. Founded in 1976, the club was formerly known as Efes Pilsen until 2011. Efes is the 2021–22 EuroLeagu ...

qualified for its first Final Four since 2001, this being their third appearance in total, after finishing the regular season in the 16 th (last) place the previous year. The club beat Barcelona Lassa 3–2 in the play-offs. Larkin set a new EuroLeague Final Four record for Performance Index Rating with 43.

Semifinal B

Russian champions

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

returned to the Final Four to make it their eighth consecutive Final Four appearance. The club beat Kirolbet Baskonia 3–1 in the play-offs. Defending Euroleague and spanish champions

would play its third consecutive Final Four appearance. The match would be a re-match of the 2018 Semifinal A, which

won on their way to their 10th title.

beat Panathinaikos OPAP 3–0 in the play-offs.

Third place game

Fenerbahçe and Real Madrid faced off in a re-match of the 2018 championship game. Facundo Campazzo set an all-time record for assists in a Final Four game, with 15. He surpassed

Terrell McIntyre Lance Terrell McIntyre (born October 18, 1977) is a retired American professional basketball player. Standing at 5'9 " (1.76 m), he played at the point guard position. A two-time All-EuroLeague First Team selection, he reached the EuroLeague Fin ...

's record from

Championship game

The seven-time

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 ...

champions

advanced to the championship game for the seventh time and first since 2016 EuroLeague Final Four.

advance to the Final Four Championship Game for the first time in their history, having finished third in both previous

Euroleague Final Four The EuroLeague Final Four is the final four format championship of the European-wide top-tier level EuroLeague professional club basketball competition. The Euroleague Basketball Company used the final four format for the first time in 2002, fo ...

participations. Remarkable was that in the previous season, Efes finished sixteenth and last in the EuroLeague. Shane Larkin broke the record for most points scored in a Final Four, with 59 total.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:2019 Euroleague Final Four

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

EuroLeague Finals Sport in Vitoria-Gasteiz International basketball competitions hosted by Spain