The city of Milan will always bring back fond memories for fans of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv.
In 2014, David Blatt's Maccabi made it to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four having beaten EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 3-1 in the playoffs. Now, they would return to the Italian city for a semifinal clash against Russian powerhouse CSKA Moscow.
What transpired was one of the most epic games in EuroLeague history. After being down by 15 points, Maccabi roared back to win 67-68 after Tyrese Rice's tough layup with five seconds remaining in regulation, a victory that set up a meeting with Real Madrid in the championship game.
Real Madrid was the overwhelming favorite after beating FC Barcelona by 38 points in the semifinals, yet Maccabi had a chance to win in overtime, only for Rice's three-pointer to be off the mark. Then, in overtime, Maccabi stepped up to come away with an 86-94 victory, the club's sixth EuroLeague title to date.
In the second episode of the EuroLeague 25 Moments series, listen to coach David Blatt, Rice, Sofoklis Schortsanitis, as well as Real Madrid's Pablo Laso and Ioannis Bourousis, as they relive some highlights from Maccabi's magical run to the championship title.