The islanders have a genuine chance of winning a second EuroCup title after defying the odds to reach the finals
Gran Canaria aims to replicate recent EuroCup glory
Άρθρο
3 Χρόνος Ανάγνωσης
Dreamland Gran Canaria still has fresh memories of winning the BKT EuroCup in 2023 and the Spanish club will be confident of repeating the feat this term when it locks horns with Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv in the best-of-three finals series later this month.
Both teams staged stunning tie-breaking upsets on the road to reach the finals, as Hapoel shocked Valencia Basket 92-94 while Gran Canaria edged out Bahcesehir 72-76 in a rugged and physical contest which went down to the wire.
Player of the game Caleb Homesley was instrumental in Granca’s unlikely win, as the team based on a remote Spanish island close to the shores of North Africa came from behind in the series to deny Bahcesehir a first shot at glory.
Having lost the opener 74-66, Granca evened the series after Homesley came up with a clutch three-point play at the buzzer to give the Spanish side a 69-68 win in Game 2 and level the series.
The 28-year-old guard then poured 19 points in the tie-breaker, including a vital three-pointer and a pair of free throws which sealed Gran Canaria’s victory and a berth in the finals.
Coach Jaka Lakovic, who guided Granca to its first EuroCup title two years ago, was delighted with the outcome and also heaped praise on Bahcesehir after the Turkish team came agonizingly close to prevailing on home court.
“We knew what we needed to do to win this game and the players deserve all the credit,” the Slovenian tactician told the postgame press conference.
“They put in a great effort and showed a great mentality. In the end we made the free throws and grabbed some important rebounds, we were more determined and hence we deserved to win. But I still want to congratulate Bahcesehir for a great EuroCup season, they were the best team in the toughest group during the regular season.”
Bahcesehir romped through the regular season and won Group A with a 14-4 record ahead of second-placed Hapoel and Gran Canaria in third, with both sides finishing on 12-6 in a fiercely competitive section.
Hapoel will therefore have home court advantage in the finals but Gran Canaria will not be intimidated as the Israeli team has been forced to play its home games this season in the Bulgarian town of Samokov, some 55 kilometers from the capital Sofia.
Coach Jakovic and his men will be more concerned with a pair of crushing defeats they suffered at the hands of Hapoel during the regular season, 79-66 on the road and 64-87 in Gran Canaria, as Hapoel’s deep roster including several former EuroLeague players proved too strong.
Namely Johnathan Motley, Yam Madar and Bruno Caboclo, whose experience in Europe’s premier club competition could play a telling role again when the two sides clash with the EuroCup title at stake.
Granca, on the other hand, will be buoyed by grinding out a series of close wins in the playoffs, including an 89-92 victory at Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem in the quarterfinals, when Homesley sank 21 points to put the other Israeli team in the competition to the sword.
Ultimately, Gran Canaria showed the makings of a championship winning team in the gritty Game 3 win against Bahcesehir, handing the Turkish side its first loss on home court in the EuroCup this season which ended an impressive run of 11 straight wins.
It was a heartbreaking finale for the Turkish side and its Montenegrin head coach Dejan Radonjic, who rued missed shots from the foul line when the chips were down but hailed his team’s fighting spirit.
“We missed a chance to force overtime and it’s very tough to analyze the game right now,” Radonjic told reporters. “Missing five free throws in the last 10 minutes is just too much in a game like this. It’s been an amazing EuroCup season for us and I am very proud of what we have accomplished in this competition.”
Jakovic will be even prouder if Gran Canaria can complete its fairytale postseason run and cap it with a second EuroCup title in two years, a feat which would indeed take the former Slovenian point guard and his men to dreamland.