EuroLeague Basketball is pleased to announce the names of the eight referees who will officiate the games of the 2022 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Belgrade, Serbia.

EuroLeague Basketball names Final Four referees

Ilija Belosevic, Mehdi Difallah, Tomislav Hordov, Damir Javor, Luigi Lamonica, Olegs Latisevs, Boris Ryzhyk and Gytis Vilius are the chosen referees for the signature event of the season, which takes place at Stark Arena from Thursday, May 19, to Saturday, May 21.

Together, they bring a tremendous experience to the games. Seven of them have previously officiated at the Final Four and two of them – Latisevs and Vilius – oversaw the 2021 EuroLeague Championship Game in Cologne, Germany. Difallah was also an official at last season's Final Four. 


"This season has again been exceptional in many ways, but despite the challenges, our whole group of officials has shown dedication and commitment in completing the regular season and in delivering high-level work in the playoffs. We are grateful to the whole group for making every effort to reach the level that is expected by our fans and clubs," Richard Stokes, Euroleague Basketball's Senior Director of Officiating, said. 

"I congratulate these eight officials for their selection to the Final Four in Belgrade. Being a Final Four official is a great achievement that comes with a responsibility to exceed the excellence shown throughout the season, both individually and as part of the wider group."
 
Ryzhyk and Belosevic are the most experienced of the group as they are in their 22nd and 21st seasons in the EuroLeague, respectively, and Lamonica is right behind them, in his 19th season. 
 
This will be the 10th Final Four each for Lamonica, Latisevs and Ryzhyk. Lamonica's first Final Four came in 2002 in Bologna. Ryzhyk's Final Four debut came in Athens in 2007 and Latisevs's was in 2010 in Paris. Belosevic will appear at the Final Four for the ninth time. Difallah and Javor will each be at their third and Vilius at his second. Hordov will referee Final Four games for the first time.


Euroleague Basketball is pleased to announce the names of the eight referees who will officiate the games of the 2022 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Belgrade, Serbia.

Euroleague Basketball names Final Four referees

Vasilije Micic completed a historic season on Sunday by lifting Anadolu Efes Istanbul to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague championship for the first time in club history. A few minutes later, Micic had another trophy for his case after being chosen Final Four MVP.

Micic is chosen Final Four MVP

Vasilije Micic completed a historic season on Sunday by lifting Anadolu Efes Istanbul to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague championship for the first time in club history. A few minutes later, Micic had another trophy for his case after being chosen Final Four MVP. The 27-year-old guard also received a 1 million travel miles award from Turkish Airlines' passenger loyalty program Miles&Smiles.

Turkish Airlines’ Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee, M. Ilker Ayci said, "I would want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Anadolu Efes for the great times it provided us during our organization, as well as the championship cup they delivered to our nation. I congratulate Vasilije Micic who became the Most Valuable Player of the Final Four. We will continue to promote the Turkish Airlines brand, which has long been associated with important organizations and clubs in a variety of sports." 

<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Voice of an ANGEL!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> <a href="https://t.co/PyEG7glVfE">pic.twitter.com/PyEG7glVfE</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1399109187687182338?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 30, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center>

Micic was a natural choice as not only did he lead Efes in scoring in both games at Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany, but his averages of 25.0 points, 5.5 assists and a PIR of 27.0 were the most at this season’s Final Four, too. He also became the fifth player in competition history to capture both the EuroLeague MVP and Final Four MVP trophies in the same season. He joins Dimitris Diamantidis (Panathinaikos Athens, 2011), Vassilis Spanoulis (Olympiacos Piraeus, 2013), Nando De Colo (CSKA Moscow, 2016) and Luka Doncic (2018, Real Madrid) in that distinguished group.

Will Clyburn of CSKA Moscow walked off with the Final Four MVP award on Sunday after his team downed Anadolu Efes Istanbul 83-91 for the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title on Sunday in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.

Clyburn won the vote of the hundreds of media members at the Final Four after scoring 20 points in the championship game to go with the 18 he tallied when CSKA dethroned last season's champion, Real Madrid, in the semifinal on Friday. His 38 points tied for CSKA's highest total over the weekend.

Clyburn did much of his damage from three-point distance, hitting 7 of 10 shots from behind the arc, leading CSKA's sharpshooters for the weekend. He also tied for the team lead with 10 rebounds total between the two games.

Clyburn is playing in his third EuroLeague season and second with CSKA. He was voted by fans and media to the All-EuroLeague First Team and received that award on the eve of the championship game. He finished the season averaging 13.6 points per game to go with team-high averages of 6.8 rebounds and 17.5 performance index rating.

CSKA won its fourth EuroLeague title in 14 years. Clyburn follows the club's Final Four MVPs from the three previous titles: Theo Papaloukas in 2006, Trajan Langdon in 2008 and Nando De Colo in 2016.

Clyburn gave a lot of credit to his head coach, Dimitris Itoudis, upon receiving the Final Four MVP trophy.

"I've come a long way; I'm grateful to be here. Coach believed in me, and he trusts me. He trusts in my game and my experience. He's led me in the right direction," Clyburn said. "Everybody was together today, every possession we knew what we needed to do, and we stayed together all 40 minutes. We had lots of ups and downs this season, and each one of them was very important for our growth and our belief."

Final Four MVP: Will Clyburn, CSKA Moscow

will-clyburn-mvp-final-four-vitoria-gasteiz-2019-eb18.jpg

To complete one of the greatest seasons by a teenager in basketball history, Luka Doncic was chosen Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four MVP after leading Real Madrid to the crown on Sunday night at Stark Arena in Belgrade, Serbia. Doncic shined in both Final Four games in helping Madrid capture a record 10th EuroLeague championship. The EuroLeague Final Four MVP is voted on by accredited media at the event.

Doncic was tied for the team-high in scoring with 16 points in the semifinals victory over CSKA Moscow and was second with 15 points in the championship against Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul. For the Final Four, Donic led Madrid with 31 points, was second with 6 assists and a performance index rating of 35 and third with 10 rebounds. At age 19, he is the youngest ever Final Four MVP.

The award caps a season in which Doncic was named EuroLeague MVP, made his first appearance on the All-EuroLeague First Team and won his second consecutive EuroLeague Rising Star Trophy, all in just his third professional season. He joins Panathinaikos Athens legend Dimitris Diamantidis as the only players to capture four major trophies in a single EuroLeague season. Diamantidis was the EuroLeague MVP, Final Four MVP, EuroLeague Best Defender and a member of the All-EuroLeague First Team in 2011.

"It feels amazing," Doncic said in the post-game press conference. "Everybody is asking me how it feels. I don't have any words. It feels amazing. It's incredible. I have amazing teammates I have an amazing coach like Pablo Laso to give me the opportunity to play for him. It’s pretty easy to play with this team. This season is a dream-come-true for me. Three years ago when I won the junior title I was a little jealous of the pro guys.〈/p〉"[Last season] was bad and good for me. I learned a lot of things. I think this year I was more confident. I learned a lot of toughness. I think I showed that. I think we played more like a team in this final."

Doncic chosen Final Four MVP

luka-doncic-final-four-mvp-real-madrid-belgrade-2018-eb17.jpg

After authoring one of the truly great Final Fours in competition history, Ekpe Udoh was voted MVP of the 2017 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four. Udoh led Fenerbahce Istanbul to its first ever EuroLeague crown in an 80-64 victory over Olympiacos Piraeus on Sunday at Sinan Erdem Dome by dominating on both ends of the floor. He posted 10 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and a title-game record 5 blocks in the final, which came on the heels of his 18 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 blocks in an 84-75 semifinal victory over Real Madrid. His 12 assists in a single Final Four are the most by a center in completion history and tied for the 13thmost by any player. He set a semifinal record with a performance index rating of 36 and his index rating of 29 was the most in the championship game since 2013.

Udoh, who turned 30 on Saturday, is completing his second season with Fenerbahce. He was named to the 2016-17 All-EuroLeague First Team and voted runner-up for the Best Defender Trophy this season after earning All-EuroLeague Second Team honors one year ago. Udoh, who set a single season record for blocked shots this season with 68, averaged 12.1 points and led the league with 7.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.

Udoh caps historic Final Four with MVP award

Nando De Colo was named Final Four MVP after leading CSKA Moscow to the 2016 Turkish Airlines Euroleague championship on Sunday night at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, Germany. He was selected in a vote by accredited media members at the Final Four. After a record-setting semifinal, De Colo starred in overtime as CSKA outlasted Fenerbahce 96-101 to win the club’s seventh crown. He scored 10 points in the extra session, including 8 free throws without a miss. De Colo essentially sealed the win with his final 2 free throws that made it a two-possession game with 6.2 seconds left. He finished the championship game with 22 points, 7 assists and 3 steals after collecting a semifinals record 30 points in an 88-81 victory over Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar on Friday. His 52 points over the two games were the most scored by a player at a single Final Four since the turn of the century. De Colo also tied for the most fouls drawn (18) at a single Final Four. De Colo is the third player in competition history to become Final Four MVP in the same season he was named Euroleague MVP. The first two were Dimitris Diamantidis of Panathinaikos Athens in 2011 and Vassilis Spanoulis of Olympiacos Piraeus two years later. De Colo finished his second season with CSKA with averages of 19.4 points and 5 assists over 27 games.

“I’m feeling great. What we did today, what we did during this Final Four, during the entire season, the team really deserves this trophy,” De Colo said during a post-game press conference. “We worked hard every day. Everybody thinks it’s easy for CSKA to wins games. But we can’t think like that. We have to think that every game is like a final and we need to be focused and we did. It’s why we won tonight because we stayed like a team even when they came back in the game. We knew when we came to overtime, we knew that we’re going to win this game. I just say thank you to the team and the coaches and all we did.”

De Colo celebrates title as Final Four MVP

nando-de-colo-mvp-cska-moscow-champ-euroleague-final-four-berlin-2016-eb15.jpg

Nocioni was voted bwin MVP of the Final Four by accredited Media at the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Championship Game at Barclaycard Center after a pair of impressive showings that proved decisive in Los Blancos claiming their first continental championship in 20 years. Nocioni came off the bench to score 12 points in each game at the Final Four, which tied for the most points on the team. He was also Madrid’s top rebounder with 13 rebounds and the only Madrid player to block a shot – he blocked 3! – at the Final Four. Nocioni’s average performance index rating at the Final Four was 18 and the highest of any player on the finalists. Not only was Nocioni impressive, but the timing of his plays proved crucial. His three-pointer with 3:45 remaining in the fourth quarter helped start a game-clinching 9-0 run during which he also recorded a magnificent block from behind on Kostas Sloukas. When Nocioni returned to the bench, he did so to a standing ovation, which was well deserved.

Andres Nocioni came to Real Madrid over the summer to help lead the club to glory and he made good on that at the 2015 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four.

Nocioni named bwin MVP of Euroleague Final Four

andres-nocioni-mvp-real-madrid-champ-euroleague-2014-15-final-four-madrid-2015-eb14.jpg

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.

"It was the best and most important game of my life, but this is the team effort," Rice said. "This has nothing to do what I was doing individually, because nothing is possible without my teammates. These trophies are for everybody. We played Real Madrid, the best team in Europe. Now we are the best in Europe."

Rice’s Final Four weekend will be remembered by more than just his outstanding finish to the championship game; Rice also put Maccabi in that situation by scoring the game-winning layup in the semifinal victory over CSKA Moscow. Rice becomes the third Maccabi guard to win Final Four MVP honors; Sarunas Jasikevicius did so in 2005 in Moscow and Arriel McDonald in 2001 in Paris. Anthony Parker was the Final Four MVp when Maccabi won the 2004 title in Tel Aviv.

Rice is bwin MVP of 2014 Final Four

tyrese-rice-maccabi-electra-tel-aviv-final-four-2014-mvp.jpg

"This is exciting, I feel great! This is unbelievable; I cannot describe to you how I feel,” Spanoulis said. “This is something I never even imagined in my life. I have to thank my teammates, coaches and all those unbelievable fans. It is something amazing. One game lasts for 40 minutes and it took me a little while to figure out how they were playing me. Fortunately, we found answers. What we did is truly unbelievable and I cannot describe how big this is for us. Winning a third Final Four MVP and tying Toni Kukoc is something amazing. I worked very hard and again, I want to thank the Euroleague, teammates, coaches, fans... everybody who supported us and believed in me."

Spanoulis had a rough start to the championship game and at halftime was scoreless with a minus-10 performance index rating and 3 turnovers in 14 minutes and 25 seconds of playing time. Madrid trailed by 4 at halftime and was outscored by 12 in his time on the floor. But in the second half, his greatness shined through. He started the second half with back-to-back-to-back three-pointers and never looked back. Spanoulis went on to record 22 points over the last 20 minutes on 5-of-7 three-point shooting. His performance index rating in the second half was 23 as the Reds pulled away and claimed their third Euroleague crown.

Spanoulis becomes the second player in competition history to become Final Four MVP in the same season he was named Euroleague MVP. His former teammate Dimitris Diamantidis did the same in 2011.

Vassilis Spanoulis was voted bwin MVP for the 2013 Final Four in a vote by accredited media members at the Final Four. Spanoulis received the Final Four MVP honor for the third time in his career after leading Olympiacos Piraeus to the 2012-13 Turkish Airlines Euroleague title at The O2 in London. He joins the legendary Toni Kukoc as the only players to have been named Final Four MVP on three occasions.
