Final Four Belgrade 2022 - Championship Game, Top 10 Photos

Chris Singleton and Rudy Fernandez battle for a rebound.

Chris Singleton scored 4 points in the championship game, both on two-handed dunks.

Shane Larkin attempts to drive past Guerschon Yabusele in the final minute of the championship game.

Vincent Poirier with a big second-quarter alley-oop dunk.

Tibor Pleiss pulled down 7 rebounds in the championship game, helping Efes finish the game with a 44-40 rebounding advantage.

Final Four MVP Vasilije Micic goes for a layup against Real big man Walter Tavares.

Guerschon Yabusele, in the crowd between Adrien Moerman and Tibor Pleiss, finished the game with 3 points.

Shane Larkin with a pass, defended by Walter Tavares.

Walter Tavares collected 14 points and 11 rebounds in 22 minutes of the championship game.

Micic drives past Alberto Abalde en route to a game-high 23 points.

The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game in Belgrade on Saturday was a one-point affair that came down to the final seconds. Check out the best photos of the final!

Top 10 photos: 2022 EuroLeague Championship Game

Chris Singleton - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - E21-FFF

Shane Larkin 4- Anadolu Efes Istanbul - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - E21-FFF

Vincent Poirier 4- Real Madrid - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - E21-FFF

Tibor Pleiss 5- Anadolu Efes Istanbul - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - E21-FFF

Guerschon Yabusele - Real Madrid - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - E21-FFF

Shane Larkin 3- Anadolu Efes Istanbul - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - E21-FFF

Vasilije Micic 5- Anadolu Efes Istanbul - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - E21-FFF

Walter Tavares - Real Madrid - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - E21-FFF

Vasilije Micic - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - E21-FFF

Rudy Fernandez 2- Real Madrid - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - E21-FFF

**CHAMPIONSHIP GAME REACTIONS**: Saturday's game was packed with drama and intensity, and at the end, EuroLeague stars of past and present took to social media to congratulate the back-to-back champs.

<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Great basketball on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> and one more time we showed why we are basketball country! 🇷🇸 Amazing weekend even on TV. Can&#39;t even imagine what it&#39;s like in person. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ProudSerbian?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ProudSerbian</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroLeague</a></p>&mdash; Danilo Andjusic (@Djusa33) <a href="https://twitter.com/Djusa33/status/1528098186409254913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Back to back CHAMP and back to back MVP! Thats tough tho 🙌🏼 kapa dole Vasoooo 👏🏼<a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroLeague</a></p>&mdash; Danilo Andjusic (@Djusa33) <a href="https://twitter.com/Djusa33/status/1528096849005010945?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Back to back.. you have to respect that!! Congrats to <a href="https://twitter.com/AnadoluEfesSK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AnadoluEfesSK</a> 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a></p>&mdash; Tornike Shengelia (@TokoShengelia23) <a href="https://twitter.com/TokoShengelia23/status/1528092656160620552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A dominate low post player would have been great in the EuroLeague finals. Playing one on one or ball screens in a second intense game within 48 hours is difficult. In the end it was still a great game!!</p>&mdash; Will Thomas (@the_common_name) <a href="https://twitter.com/the_common_name/status/1528092531552034818?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Back to Back🏆 is tough. <br>Much Respect 👏🏽<br>3 finals in 4 Years. Not easy to stay locked in and stay at the top . <br>Big Congrats!</p>&mdash; Kyle Hines (@SirHines) <a href="https://twitter.com/SirHines/status/1528091074815840256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congratulations to my brother <a href="https://twitter.com/Elijah_Bryant3?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Elijah_Bryant3</a> for making history. NBA champ and Euroleague champ. Blessing.</p>&mdash; Othello hunter (@O_hunter5) <a href="https://twitter.com/O_hunter5/status/1528087601101606912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congratulations to <a href="https://twitter.com/AnadoluEfesSK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AnadoluEfesSK</a> and specially to my friend <a href="https://twitter.com/alper11yilmaz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@alper11yilmaz</a></p>&mdash; Jayson granger (@jaygranger11) <a href="https://twitter.com/jaygranger11/status/1528087866382884864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congrats to Efes for going back to back…that’s tough</p>&mdash; Scottie Wilbekin (@scottiew_5) <a href="https://twitter.com/scottiew_5/status/1528085938525683712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">F4 should be in Belgrade every year.<br>Im sure 90% of player would sign up for that right now lol</p>&mdash; Nemanja Nedovic (@nedovic1624) <a href="https://twitter.com/nedovic1624/status/1528009276702220301?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mission accomplished. Back 2 back! 🏆🏆 <a href="https://t.co/t61Q8DuAVn">https://t.co/t61Q8DuAVn</a></p>&mdash; Cedi Osman (@cediosman) <a href="https://twitter.com/cediosman/status/1528245148441890816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


**THAT WINNING MOMENT**: The final seconds of the season were as dramatic as it gets.

<center><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cd1Mibyj_S4/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cd1Mibyj_S4/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cd1Mibyj_S4/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@euroleague)</a></p></div></blockquote>
<script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>


**HEAD HELD UP HIGH**: Real Madrid lost the championship game but had nothing but to be proud of the effort.

<center><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd3OMRPInJU/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd3OMRPInJU/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd3OMRPInJU/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Adam Hanga (@hangaadamonline)</a></p></div></blockquote>
<script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/tv/Cd3HGu4Lywz/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/Cd3HGu4Lywz/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/Cd3HGu4Lywz/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Fab Cau (@fabcau)</a></p></div></blockquote>
<script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">Momento muy duro, pero toca levantarse y seguir adelante <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HalaMadrid?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HalaMadrid</a> <a href="https://t.co/Fve84rM2ZS">pic.twitter.com/Fve84rM2ZS</a></p>&mdash; Alberto Abalde Díaz (@albertoabalde6) <a href="https://twitter.com/albertoabalde6/status/1528469603155951618?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">Gracias a todos por vuestro apoyo, por hacer el esfuerzo de viajar a Belgrado y por seguir creyendo siempre, como nosotros. <br>Momento duro del que nos levantaremos como siempre hemos hecho 💪🏽<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HalaMadrid?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HalaMadrid</a> <a href="https://t.co/lmBFb10Enr">pic.twitter.com/lmBFb10Enr</a></p>&mdash; Sergio Llull (@23Llull) <a href="https://twitter.com/23Llull/status/1528323607478296581?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


**CONGRATS**: EuroLeague teams also took it to Twitter to congratulate Efes on winning the title, including AX Armani Exchange Milan and Olympiacos Piraeus, two clubs Efes ousted in the EuroLeague Playoffs and the Final Four, respectively.

<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 Sincere congratulations on your hard-earned success! <a href="https://twitter.com/AnadoluEfesSK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AnadoluEfesSK</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OlympiacosBC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OlympiacosBC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreOlympiacos?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreOlympiacos</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherWeFight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherWeFight</a></p>&mdash; Olympiacos B.C. (@olympiacosbc) <a href="https://twitter.com/olympiacosbc/status/1528089859839119366?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congrats <a href="https://twitter.com/AnadoluEfesSK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AnadoluEfesSK</a> and congrats <a href="https://twitter.com/tibor_pleiss?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tibor_pleiss</a> for being the first German back-to-back champion and being named the Player of the Game <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroLeague</a>! 🏆<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4Glory?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4Glory</a> <a href="https://t.co/x2d8grFcjs">https://t.co/x2d8grFcjs</a></p>&mdash; FC Bayern Basketball (@FCBBasketball) <a href="https://twitter.com/FCBBasketball/status/1528086292642283520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">👋🏾 Our Congratulations <a href="https://t.co/Nx8Iin09qt">https://t.co/Nx8Iin09qt</a></p>&mdash; Basketball club Zenit (@zenitbasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/zenitbasket/status/1528297832419307521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congratulations to <a href="https://twitter.com/AnadoluEfesSK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AnadoluEfesSK</a> on becoming back-to-back <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Euroleague</a> champions.</p>&mdash; 🏆 Barça Basket (@FCBbasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/FCBbasket/status/1528087604385701889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congrats <a href="https://twitter.com/AnadoluEfesSK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AnadoluEfesSK</a>, a well deserved champion for the 2nd time in a row 👏👏<a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroLeague</a> <a href="https://t.co/NdVFsraXHz">https://t.co/NdVFsraXHz</a></p>&mdash; Maccabi Tel Aviv BC (@MaccabitlvBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaccabitlvBC/status/1528087346423422977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="fr" dir="ltr">👏 Congratulations <a href="https://twitter.com/AnadoluEfesSK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AnadoluEfesSK</a>, 2021-22 <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroLeague</a> champions ! 🏆 <a href="https://t.co/pzDaMGkBHE">https://t.co/pzDaMGkBHE</a></p>&mdash; AS Monaco Basket 🇲🇨 (@ASMonaco_Basket) <a href="https://twitter.com/ASMonaco_Basket/status/1528085975078948864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ht" dir="ltr">MVP, MVP, MVP! Bravo, Vaso 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🇷🇸<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroLeague?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroLeague</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/kkcz?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#kkcz</a> <a href="https://t.co/EiT0jPpyCd">https://t.co/EiT0jPpyCd</a></p>&mdash; KK Crvena zvezda mts (@kkcrvenazvezda) <a href="https://twitter.com/kkcrvenazvezda/status/1528117213814738945?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congratulations <a href="https://twitter.com/AnadoluEfesSK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AnadoluEfesSK</a> , glory to the back to back <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroLeague</a> champions. See you on the court again next season! 👏🏼<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/insieme?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#insieme</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroLeague?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroLeague</a> <a href="https://t.co/1bEsGuI2dm">https://t.co/1bEsGuI2dm</a></p>&mdash; Olimpia Milano (@OlimpiaMI1936) <a href="https://twitter.com/OlimpiaMI1936/status/1528091596687917064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congratulations to <a href="https://twitter.com/AnadoluEfesSK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AnadoluEfesSK</a> for winning the <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Euroleague</a> 🏆<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a></p>&mdash; Baskonia (@Baskonia) <a href="https://twitter.com/Baskonia/status/1528085286890119168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congratulations to <a href="https://twitter.com/AnadoluEfesSK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AnadoluEfesSK</a> on back-to-back <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroLeague</a> titles! Well-deserved! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> <a href="https://t.co/v1TIBr81g6">https://t.co/v1TIBr81g6</a></p>&mdash; CSKA Moscow (@cskabasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/cskabasket/status/1528097387171954688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 

**SPECIAL TREATMENT**: Efes already knows how to give the EuroLeague trophy a special treatment.

<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="tr" dir="ltr">Yolcular uçuşa hazır, İstanbul&#39;a geliyoruz! 🏆🏆<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BenimYerimBuras%C4%B1?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BenimYerimBurası</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kupan%C4%B1nYeriBuras%C4%B1?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KupanınYeriBurası</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Back2Back?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Back2Back</a> <a href="https://t.co/iCOmXbUcVK">pic.twitter.com/iCOmXbUcVK</a></p>&mdash; Anadolu Efes SK (@AnadoluEfesSK) <a href="https://twitter.com/AnadoluEfesSK/status/1528313408092876800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


**THE CHAMPS**: Efes became only the fourth team in the Final Four era to win back-to-back EuroLeague titles.

The Final Four in Belgrade was packed with drama and emotions, and the championship game saw Anadolu Efes Istanbul come out as back-to-back champs. Take a look at our selection of celebrations and reactions after Efes's victory.

EuroLeague on social media: Championship edition

Shane Larkin - Anadolu Efes Istanbul champ Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21-FFF

Tibor Pleiss cycled through five different Turkish Airlines EuroLeague clubs, never more than two seasons in any of them, before landing with Anadolu Efes Istanbul in 2018.

Having stayed in Istanbul with Efes for four seasons since, he is now a two-time champion whose role in the newest title was huge.

After winning the EuroLeague last year in his hometown of Cologne with some key baskets in the championship game, on Saturday in Belgrade, his contribution was as big as they get as Efes slowly turned around the scoreboard to defeat Real Madrid 57-58 and claim back-to-back titles.

Championship Game post-game quotes: Tibor Pleiss, Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Pleiss scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half, the early part of which he was all of Efes's offense, scoring the team's only 7 points for the first 7 minutes after halftime. That kept Efes close enough for Pleiss to come to the fore again in the fourth quarter, with 10 big points, none more important than the tip-in with 1:05 to play that proved the difference in the final score. 

Pleiss also had team-highs of 7 points and 2 blocks to register a performance index rating of 24, the highest in the championship game. 

Pleiss is all smiles off the court, even without winning titles, but he was ready to explain where his killer instinct came from in the second half on Saturday.

"Actually, I got it in the last few days. I had a lot of mosquitos in my room. I don't know where they came from. I think from the air conditioning. I'm just guessing. I killed about 25 of them," he joked. "I mean, I like animals, but the mosquitos, if they are flying around me, I don't like it so much. So if you see the walls in my hotel room, they're kind of bloody."

Pleiss's killer instinct turned Efes around after halftime

Real Madrid v Anadolu Efes Istanbul (2022-05-21T17:00:00.000Z)

Real Madrid has been the best rebounding team in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, but Anadolu Efes Istanbul survived early dominance by Los Blancos on the glass before doing the damage of its own that helped Efes edge its way to a 57-58 championship game win.

It took a team effort for Efes to win the battle on the glass

Before the championship game, Efes guard Shane Larkin spoke about one key to the game: "I think it is going to be big for us to get the rebounds," Larkin pointed out. "It will take all of us, a team effort to get the rebounds and focus on the defensive side of the ball."

Efes did not get off to a good start on the boards. Walter Tavares dominated with 6 offensive boards in the first quarter alone. He finished with 8 offensive rebounds for the game, tying the all-time single-game Final Four record for offensive rebounds.

However, Efes did not allow Real to keep that edge, and eventually won the battle on the boards. And just like Larkin predicted, it took a team effort.

Five different Efes players had 6 or more rebounds, led by Elijah Bryant's 8. Chris Singleton and Tibor Pleiss grabbed 7 apiece and Shane Larkin and Adrien Moerman each had 6.

When the final buzzer sounded, Efes outrebounded Real for the game 40-44 - and 8-13 in the fourth quarter alone. Real finished with 18 offensive rebounds, which was 1 shy of the Final Four record, but Efes had 5 of its 11 in the fourth quarter, including a tip-in from Pleiss with 1:05 to go to make it 55-58 and Efes held on to defend its EuroLeague crown.

Vasilije Micic - Anadolu Efes Istanbul champ Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21-FFF

### Ergin Ataman, Anadolu Efes Istanbul head coach

“I’m sorry for Real Madrid, they made a great game, but we knew how to manage the game, especially the last minutes because I have in the team star players who know how to play in that kind of situation. In the finals, strategy, especially offensive strategy, is not working well, you see that in all games in the Final Four. But great players can resolve situations. In the last quarter, all the team made a great defense, we really solved the problems for the offensive rebounds. We had a big problem until the third quarter with offensive rebounds, we gave away a lot of points, and then we found a way to win the game.

"Of course, we are deeply upset about the situation \[in Ukraine\]. I spoke about this on the first day that the war started. I was maybe the first and I think somebody cut my words on live TV. It’s unacceptable that it’s happening this century in Ukraine. I live in Turkey with Turkish people and we were all upset when we saw the honest people, children, old people, they died, alone, they disappeared. It’s unbelievable that this happened this century in Ukraine, in 2022. I’m very sorry also about my friends in the clubs in Russia who have nothing, only because of politics, bullshit politics. I hope that finally, humanity will beat this situation like we beat the Coronavirus. I’m optimistic that we can beat also this.

"Perfect game, perfect season \[for Tibor Pleiss\]. He gave us also this Final Four, as you know he played great in the last game against Milan in Istanbul. We believe in him and in our system he’s very important, because he has the mid-range shot, three-point shot, rebounding. In the last seconds, he followed the ball with Larkin and Micic on the penetrations and he was great. We gave him confidence. Last year he was injured and we gave the same confidence to Sertac Sanli, and we won. This season Sertac left the team, I talked to him. ‘Why do you go to the second team? Why not stay with the champion to take one more title?’ I don’t know what he thinks about now, but it doesn’t matter. In our system it’s very important, Pleiss made a good job during the season, also Bryant Dunston with his old age, he put great character every time. In the semifinal, he played much better and made a great job. It’s a team, everybody knows his role and Pleiss made his role very good.

“It’s an emotional situation right now, at the end of the season we will see. As you know in the last three or four years we changed very small things. Sanli left, we brought in Petrusev. This season Simon had a health problem, we put Elijah Bryant on the team but we didn’t cut anybody. Now at the end of the season, we will consider everything and make decisions. This team has made history for the club, the country, for European basketball. For now, I don’t have any idea what will happen in the summer, we will think afterward about this.

“You know my confidence. For me, my team is an NBA team. Okay, this season we didn’t play like an NBA team, but in the previous season and everybody knows about the season that was canceled we dominated, played great basketball. This season, so-so.

“Micic is only 27 years old, he will have more career, and I believe he will have a chance to improve his record, like me. Maybe I am not young like him but we will try. He’s a good character, he’s a power point guard, he has developed incredibly during these four seasons. This season he had some ups and downs, but at the most important time, he played great. He can play defense, make difficult shots, he has good penetrations. So what else from a point guard?!

“It’s nice to be an outsider. I’m an outsider coach because I’m coming from Turkey. Before, nobody from Turkey made these results. I enjoy this job, I am a different kind of person. I enjoy coaching, I enjoy press conferences, interviews. Sometimes I enjoy making complaints to EuroLeague and they punish me. I give them money, I am a sponsor to them, but now I will take my bonus for the championship so I enjoy my job. And if somebody considers me a good coach or not a good coach, or they say you have on your team Larkin and Micic, that’s okay, no problem.

“I don’t know \[about the NBA\]. Maybe it’s better to ask my son, you already know Junior Ataman. And now my family, my wife and two daughters. They already studied Miami. Maybe someone will call us and ask us, I don’t know, it’s not my decision.”

### Pablo Laso, Real Madrid head coach:

“Firstly, congratulations to Efes for the victory. It was a long season for all of us and I have to be proud of my players for the way they stuck together the whole year, until the last minute. Right now it’s a sad moment for all of us, we were so close, but that’s part of life, part of basketball. Congratulate Efes and try to pass this out of our head as fast as possible.

“We were 1 point down and it was a difficult thing to decide. It’s true that now, when you lose, the easy thing is that we should have fouled. But I thought that with the time remaining, more than 3 seconds, we could have defended and got the last possession. We didn’t get a clean rebound and we couldn’t attack. They played very smart that possession, they got a three, they missed it, but we couldn’t get a clean rebound. If you ask me now should we have fouled, we should have fouled. But I don’t know what would have happened.

“Obviously, I’m upset. The team has worked hard to reach this game, and I think we did a lot of things well. But we failed to break the game at any time with more offensive rhythm. The shooting percentages didn’t go with us. Against a team with the talent of Efes, if they score 58 points I think your defensive plan has worked very well. Offensively, when I look at the number of assists and the percentages, I don’t think that was too bad either. But saying all this doesn’t help, because we lost a final. Right now I don’t have much in my head to think of the game, because I’m upset to have lost the game.

“We were very competitive all season. We had better moments and worse moments, but we always worked hard and I congratulate the players for their season. There were 16 EuroLeague teams who didn’t take part in this game.

“I never considered us dead. We had problems and when you lose in sports, things always look bad, but I don’t see it that way. From tomorrow we can start to think more positively, but tonight we can only think that we were one shot from winning the title. A lot of the time in basketball, if you score baskets everything is easier. We had moments tonight when we played very good basketball, and I sincerely don’t think that we could have changed many things. When you lose, you can go crazy thinking about what you could do differently. But I don’t think that way, I value the work the guys did in the game. It hasn’t been easy but we did very well.

Gaby \[Deck\] is very important for us. From the first day, we knew we had a big player with us and every player has different talents. It would be stupid for us not to use that talent and that’s the hardest part for a coach – to get somebody on the team. For example, when a guy gets injured everybody says...ah, they lost this player. For a coach, the problem is not when he gets hurt but when he gets back on the team. So with Gaby, I have this feeling. We lost him, we got him back 10 months later. And when we built the team, he was not here. Probably the same situation with Randolph. That’s an adjustment you have to make as a coach, but I have a lot of respect for my players because they understood how important Gaby could be for our season.”

Championship Game post-game press conference quotes

Ergin Ataman - Anadolu Efes Istanbul champ Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21-FFF

Vasilije Micic came through in the clutch in both games of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four to lead Anadolu Efes Istanbul to its second consecutive championship.

Micic repeats as Final Four MVP!

Micic was named 2021-22 Final Four MVP and joined a very short list of stars to win that trophy in consecutive seasons. He poured in a game-high 23 points with 4 three-pointers and had 2 rebounds and 2 assists in Efes’s hard fought 57-58 win over Real Madrid in the championship game. That came after he collected 15 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists in the 74-77 semifinal win over Olympiacos Piraeus, which he sealed with a last-second three-pointer to win it.

He became just the fourth player to win back-to-back Final Four MVPs joining Toni Kukoc in 1990 and 1991 with Jugoplastika Split, Dejan Bodiroga in 2002 with Panathinaikos Athens and 2003 with FC Barcelona and Vassilis Spanoulis with Olympiacos Piraeus in 2012 and 2013. It was Spanoulis who handed him the MVP Trophy in the post-game ceremony.

“Thank you every one for being in the gym. Thank you to all the fans who participated in the Final Four. Honestly, I am speechless because four years ago I played here and finished third and I came up short. And this time we won the title,” said Micic after the game, referring to taking third place at the 2018 Final Four with Zalgiris Kaunas in the same Stark Arena where he would celebrate back-to-back crowns with Efes in 2022.

“This one also feels amazing. Still, I’m speechless. These things for all my life will stay with me, forever. It will be a marker in my heart. Again, nothing without my teammates is possible. Four amazing years together, two titles, and this \[MVP\] title, but once again, a team title is more important.

“Tonight, everywhere will be very, very hot, everywhere in Belgrade. I’m going to take all my team together and we will celebrate like never before,” Micic, who spent half his childhood in Belgrade, added almost with a sly grin.

Anadolu Efes Istanbul repeated as the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion with a 57-58 victory over Real Madrid with only five players scoring points.

Efes trio carries the load to take EuroLeague crown


Entering the championship game, Efes was the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague's top-scoring team over the past four seasons with 84.3 points per game. However, Efes won its second consecutive title by netting just 58 points, the lowest it scored in any EuroLeague game in that period. Of that total, Vasilije Micic, Tibor Pleiss and Shane Larkin combined to score 52.

Final Four MVP Micic shined with 23 points on 4-for-7 three-point shooting and Pleiss had 19 points while pulling down 7 rebounds. Larkin scored 10 together with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. The only other Efes scorers were Chris Singleton with 4 points and Bryant Dunston with 2.

Anadolu Efes Istanbul champ Final Four Belgrade 2022 5- EB21-FFF

Post-game quotes: championship game Madrid vs. Efes

### Ergin Ataman, Anadolu Efes Istanbul head coach

“I’m sorry for Real Madrid, they made a great game, but we knew how to manage the game, especially the last minutes because I have in the team star players who know how to play in that kind of situation. In the finals, strategy, especially offensive strategy, is not working well, you see that in all games in the Final Four. But great players can resolve situations. In the last quarter, all the team made a great defense, we really solved the problems for the offensive rebounds. We had a big problem until the third quarter with offensive rebounds, we gave away a lot of points, and then we found a way to win the game."

### Pablo Laso, Real Madrid head coach:

“Of course, I’m happy the way we played, congratulations to Efes for the win, it was a great final. Everybody fighting for every ball. We were missing some open shots that we didn’t score and missing those baskets at the end. On a do or die, probably on my mind is gonna be the last play: should we foul, shouldn’t we foul? We didn’t get the rebound. I think if we had got the rebound we could have had a last shot, but we couldn’t get a clean rebound…well, congratulations Efes, that’s it.”

### Tibor Pleiss, Anadolu Efes Istanbul center:

“It’s incredible. As a kid, I always looked up to the two teams that played the Final Four and now I’ve won it back to back, it’s incredible. I’m full of emotions, I’m tired, but I’m so happy it’s incredible, I have no words for it. This team worked so hard for the title, we had a lot of ups and downs this season and we ended up now with a title again, one year later, incredible. I have to tell you, I just realized after the game how many people are here because I was so focused the whole game. Actually, I’m just starting to enjoy it. I tried to give what I could do on the court, tried to help my team. I was open, took the shots, the balls went in, keep going and it worked out pretty well.”

### Vasilije Micic, Anadolu Efes Istanbul guard:

“First of all, thank you everybody for being in the gym, thank you all the fans who participated in this Final Four. I am honestly very speechless because four years ago I played here and I won third place and I was short. But this time we won the title, and I want to congratulate my teammates, congrats to Real Madrid for an amazing game and thank you once again.

“This \[MVP award\] feels amazing. It will stay forever with me, it will be marked on my heart until I play basketball and afterwards. Nothing is possible without my teammates – four amazing years together, two titles. The team result is more important. Everybody knows that tonight will be very hot all over Belgrade, I’m going to take all my team together and we’re going to celebrate like never before.”

### Bryant Dunston, Anadolu Efes Istanbul center:

"We are all on the same page, When the coach comes in, since the first day, he said we are the best team in Europe and we have to go out there and prove it. He challenges us the whole time and the guys step up. It really shows the character of our team, that the guys always in the moment that we need them, they step up. At halftime it was fine. At that moment we said, okay, we are playing bad but it's only a 5-point game, though. We continued playing, the shots were gonna follow eventually. We were lucky that that shots went down when we needed them to."

### Chris Singleton, Anadolu Efes Istanbul forward:

"I don't know if it's pressure, but you are in the championship game, you are in the Final Four. I mean, you just got to leave it all on the line. I think I said that Thursday, we are here to win, they are here to win, so just give it your all. It's the only thing that you can do. I just know I was fighting with Deck \[for a critical rebound in the final minute\] and I know he got down there. We were just battling. That's what I was trying to do. I wasn't making shots, nobody was making shots, but I knew I had a chance to get all of his rebounds. And thankfully, it came to me at the end. I said that the key to the game would be guarding the three-point line. I think we broke the Final Four record in our last game with 14 made - and I knew that they shoot a lot of threes, we shoot a lot of threes, so it's a lot of rebounds that could be happening. This is a big moment and only a couple of players got it going in the scoring column, but everybody participated doing this. It's only been three teams \[to win back-to-back titles since 2000\] and that's a great category to be in. I'm just happy to be part of this big group."

### James Anderson, Anadolu Efes Istanbul forward:

"No one was really making shots and it was all about small details. We were lucky to get away with the win. I think that fight more than anything \[made the difference\]. We were down early and gave up a lot of offensive rebounds. We didn't share the ball particularly well and we normally do. It was all about details. Rebounding, Elijah got some good rebounds in the end, Tibor hit some big shots, so that was pretty much the key. This is our second year in a back-to-back and made it three years in a row to the final and it could have been four with the COVID-19 season. It says a lot about our group of guys that we have and the effort that we put. Chris's rebound at the end was big. He went for a one-handed snatch over everybody and gave us another possession. That was one of the biggest plays of the night."

### Elijah Bryant, Anadolu Efes Istanbul guard:

"We missed some shots that could have made it different, but at the end of the day we managed to get some rebounds and make some stops and that's what wins games. Vasilije Micic is a big-time player and he played a great game. He is our best player and obviously many things went throughout him."

### Adrien Moerman, Anadolu Efes Istanbul forward: 

"Unbelievable! I can't describe it right now because this is a great moment. We will see tonight; it is going to be a big party and we will enjoy it together. This is great for us and great for the club. Four years ago, we were last in the championship and now, for the second time in a row, we are the best team in Europe. This is great for Turkish basketball. When we made some stops, the fans were pushing us. But they didn't just push us in the Final Four, they also did it in the playoffs and the regular season. This is for them! We played the last three finals and won two titles. This is unbelievable for us, for this group. We fought for four years together. We had some ups and downs this season, it was not an easy season for us and in the end, we forgot everything and won. And now, we have to win the Turkish League again!"

### Rodrigue Beaubois, Anadolu Efes Istanbul guard:

"It is amazing. We have a special group that was put together four years ago and what we have been able to do in those four years is just amazing. To have two EuroLeague championships, never done with this club before, is just amazing. Thank God for everything and I am just glad they believed in this group. I hope we are going to stay together as long as possible."

### Adam Hanga, Real Madrid forward:

"In this game, you must make your shots if you want to win and we didn't achieve that tonight, It's what it is. Right now ending second makes no difference, it feels like we had not qualified for the playoffs. It makes no difference to me. I don't have anything to say about the last plays, I want to watch them later."

### Guerschon Yabusele, Real Madrid forward:

"Everybody is asking me about the last possession, but you don't win or lose the game in the last possession. It's before that. So, congratulations to them. We missed our shots, it was a tough game, a close one, with two teams going out for each other.

"We had a pretty good season. Of course, I am disappointed about the result but we fell short. We will go home and get ready for the ACB. It was a great game to compete, there was a lot of competition today. It was a close game and we missed some shots but stayed in the game.... It was good \[to play in my first Final Four\]. I missed a lot of shots today and feel like every shot that I was taking, I felt like it was going in, it was a good feeling... but it's okay, you know? I am still young, I am learning. I am going home, move on and get better."

### Vincent Poirier, Real Madrid center:

"I am sad but at the same time, I am proud of the team. We competed in both games and this one, we lost it by one. I think we let it go because we conceded too many offensive rebounds and easy baskets. If we controlled that, it would not have been the same result. We lost, that's part of the game. We will come back stronger and we will see."

Here are the views of the protagonists after the title decider between Anadolu Efes Istanbul and Real Madrid

Post-game quotes: championship game Real vs. Efes

Anadolu Efes Istanbul made history by defending its crown from last season with a defensive-minded 57-58 victory over Real Madrid, the team with the most titles in competition history, 10. Efes becomes the first back-to-back EuroLeague champion since Olympiacos Piraeus in 2012 and 2013. The only other repeat winners since 1988 when the modern Final Four era began are Maccabi Tel Aviv (2004 and 2005) and Jugoplastika Split (1989, 1990, 1991).

Walter Tavares had a monster first quarter to get Real off on the right foot, but it soon settled into a cat-and-mouse battle with 10 lead changes and five ties going into the last 3 minutes, as his counterpart, Tibor Pleiss, scored 17 second-half points. A tip-in by Pleiss going into the final minute was good for a 55-58 lead as Real managed only a layup by Sergio Llull thereafter. Micic led Efes with 23 points, Pleiss added 19 and Shane Larkin 10. The rest of the Efes players had 6 points between them. Real's sole double-digit scorer was Tavares, who had 12 of his 14 points in the first quarter. Llull came next with 9 points.

No team was able to find offensive momentum in the early going, despite a display of high-pace basketball on both ends. Micic's single free throw was the only point that fell in the first 2 minutes. Adam Hanga broke the ice with a layup that was soon answered by an outside shot from Pleiss. Tavares then took over inside with consecutive buckets that pushed Real ahead, 6-4, but Micic replied from deep to tie it. Tavares kept rocking in the paint, providing 6 more points to build a 12-6 advantage for *Los Blancos*. Tavares added his 12th point to make it 15-8 entering the last minute, but Larkin revived Efes with a triple and a three-point play that brought Efes within 15-14 after 10 minutes. By then, Tavares had 5 offensive boards among his 7 total, both of which were single-quarter records in any Final Four game.

Micic beat Tavares off-the-dribble to give a 15-16 edge to Efes at the start of the second quarter. Jeffery Taylor hit a corner three to end *Los Blancos'* drought from behind the arc, but Chris Singleton found an easy dunk and Micic shined again driving to the basket to keep Efes in charge, 18-20. Real didn't tremble and soon recovered a 26-22 advantage behind a bucket by Sergio Llull and a powerful alley-oop slam by Vincent Poirier. Fabien Causeur followed with a contested layup and Anthony Randolph made things worse for Efes, 29-22, with a three-pointer. Larkin and Micic took over on the other end, combining for 7 points that shrunk the difference to just one possession, 31-29. The rally didn't go further, though, as a corner three-pointer by Randolph allowed Real to reach halftime ahead, 34-29.

Real widened the gap after the break to 37-29 thanks to a free throw by Tavares and layup by Alberto Abalde. Pleiss counterattacked under the board, but that was the only Efes field goal for the first 6 minutes of the third quarter. Even though Real also struggled on offense, too, Hanga sank  a long triple to make it 40-31 midway through the third quarter. The reigning champs found a solution in Pleiss, who first added free throws and then came up big from behind the arc to bring Efes within 40-36. Micic joined him with 2 more free throws that made it 40-38 and then added a layup later right after Yabusele scored inside as Real clung to a slim 42-40 advantage after 30 minutes.

Efes needed just 1 more minute to complete its rally through Micic, who drilled a contested three-pointer over Tavares for a 42-43 lead. Chris Singleton followed with a steal and a finish which extended it to 42-45 with 7 minutes remaining. Real held on thanks to the free-throw line, as Deck, Llull and Poirier combined for 5 points there that made it all square, 47-47. Pleiss's next basket was replied to with a timely triple by Lllull to return the lead to *Los Blancos*, 50-49. Pleiss took over again, turning back-to-back assists by Micic into a corner jumper and a monster alley-oop to turn the tables again, putting Efes up 50-53 with 3 minutes to go. Even though Deck showed up from deep to forge a new tie, Micic answered quickly from the same place as Efes stayed in front, 53-56, entering crunch time. Real found Tavares inside to draw a foul that was turned into a free throw and an offensive rebound that provided another point from the line to keep it tight, 55-56. Pleiss was again a key factor for his team, as he made up for Micic's missed layup with a decisive tip-in and a 55-58 advantage with 1:05 remaining. Llull got *Los Blancos* closer with an off-the-dribble layup on the next possession, 57-58, and still 0:44 to play. There were no more points in the game, though, as Real's fouls allowed Efes to consume the remaining time and confirm a historic victory.

The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague has its first back-to-back champion in nine years and just the fourth of the Final Four era after a showdown for the trophy on Saturday in Belgrade, Serbia, that did perfect justice to the spectacular season that came before it.