Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul is the new Turkish League champion, AS Monaco defended the French League crown and Real Madrid claimed its 37th Spanish League crown in a busy Wednesday full of domestic leagues action!
Fenerbahce, Real, Monaco win domestic titles!
![Fenerbahce, Real, Monaco win domestic titles!](https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/ba49b951-cbb3-4fbe-b345-e5fa66cc3685.jpg?crop=2048%3A1152%3Anowe%3A0%3A200)
Real sweeps Murcia, regain Spanish League title
Real Madrid is the Spanish League champion! Real conquered its 37th Spanish League title by topping UCAM Murcia 73-84 in Game 3 to sweep the best-of-five series, rounding a perfect domestic season: Los Blancos also won the Spanish Copa del Rey and the Spanish SuperCup. Dzanan Musa led the winners with 18 points. Mario Hezonja added 17 while Facu Campazzo had 13 for Real. Dylan Ennis led Murcia with 18 points.
Musa and Hezonja helped Real get an early 3-9 lead. Ennis rescued Murcia and Yannis Morin gave his team its first lead, 19-17, at the end of the first quarter. Murcia soon boosted its margin to double digits, 38-28, on a jumper by Moussa Diagne. Real got within 40-32 at halftime. Ennis hit his fourth triple for a 51-42 Murcia lead. Hezonja and Campazzo each hit a three-pointer and Musa struck twice from beyond the arc in a 2-16 run that pur Los Blancos in charge, 53-58. Musa and Hezonja kept pacing Real and Alberto Abalde made it a double-digit lead, 56-66, after 30 minutes. Murcia quickly got within 64-69 but Real improved its defense in crunch time and Musa's layup sealed the outcome, 67-79, with 2 minutes remaining.
Monaco keeps French League crown
AS Monaco has won its second consecutive French League title! Monaco successfully defended the French League crown by overwhelming this season's BKT EuroCup champion Paris Basketball 76-115 on the road in Game 4 of their best-of-five series. Monaco won the series 3-1. Mike James led the winners with 27 points. Elie Okobo added 23, Mam Jaiteh had 14 while Matthew Strazel and Jordan Loyd each had 12 for Monaco. T.J. Shorts, Collin Malcolm and Mikael Jantunen led Paris with 12 points apiece. Justin Simon and Nadir Hifi each added 11 for the hosts.
Monaco started the game completely on fire, as James had 12 points in a 0-19 opening run that gave the guests full control. Malcolm tried to ignite Paris's comeback with consecutive baskets but James got help from Jaiteh and Loyd to keep Monaco way ahead, 18-37, after 10 minutes. Monaco stayed fully focused, with the only goal of finishing the series right away. The guests boosted their margin to 37-63 at halftime and then again to 55-93 at the end of the third quarter, getting plenty of time to celebrate a well-deserved win that allowed Monaco to lift the French League trophy1
Fenerbahce beats Efes, claims Turkish crown
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul is the Turkish League champion! Fenerbahce claimed its 11th Turkish League crown by topping Anadolu Efes Istanbul 80-72 in overtime in Game 4 of the best-of-five finals, winning the series 1-3 in front of its fans at Ulker Sports and Event Hall. Tarik Biberovic led the winners with 19 points. Nigel Hayes-Davis had 12 of his 16 points in overtime to make sure Fenerbahce lifted the trophy. Scottie Wilbekin added 12 points while DyShawn Pierre had 10 for Fenerbahce. Elijah Bryant led Efes with 20 points. Shane Larkin and Rodrigue Beaubois each added 11 while Derek Willis had 10 for the guests.
Pierre struck from downtown and Wilbekin added back-to-back three-pointers in an 11-0 opening run. Biberovic had nine unanswered points in an 11-0 run that boosted Fenerbahce's lead to 26-8 early in the second quarter. Efes finally found a go-to guy in Beaubois, who scored around the basket and added a couple of three-pointers, sparking a 0-14 run that Larkin capped with a layup for a 32-26 deficit. Bryant and Derek Willis brought Efes even closer, 36-33, at halftime. Willis dunked to tie the game, 41-41, right after the break. Ercan Osmani soon completed Efes's comeback, 47-48. The guests led 51-52 after 30 minutes but Nick Calathes and Pierre each struck from beyond the arc for a 61-55 Fenerbahce lead midway through the fourth quarter. Dogus Ozdemiroglou and Bryant fueled a 1-9 run, then Hayes-Davis's jumper sent the game to overtime, 64-64. Hayes-Davis hit back-to-back three-pointers, adding a pair of free throws and a couple of baskets to led Fenerbahce to the Turkish League title!
Panathinaikos beats Olympiacos; ties Greek League finals
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens survived a do-or-die situation in the Greek League Finals by downing archrivals Olympiacos Piraeus 85-88 in Game 4 of the best-of-five series. Panathinaikos bounced back from a 0-2 deficit in the series and forced Game 5, to be played at OAKA Altion on Friday. Kendrick Nunn paced the winners with 25 points. Jerian Grant and Mathias Lessort each added 15 while Kostas Sloukas had 12 for the reigning Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champions. Giannoulis Larentzakis led Olympiacos with 13 points. Isaiah Canaan, Kostas Papanikolaou, Alec Peters, Nigel Williams-Goss and Filip Petrusev each added 11 for the Reds.
Thomas Walkup hit a triple and Papanikolaou added a driving layup for 5-0 Olympiacos lead. Ioannis Papapetrou and Nunn each struck from downtown, then Lessort gave Panathinaikos its first lead, 9-10. Papanikoloau and Walkup kept pacing the Reds, getting help from Nikola Milutinov to restore a 22-17 lead after 10 minutes. Sloukas hit one from beyond the arc for a 23-24 Panathinaikos lead early in the second quarter. Williams-Goss and Shaquielle McKissic fueled a 7-0 run that gave Olympiacos fresh air at 30-24. Larentzakis joined the three-point shootout to make it a double-digit game, 42-31. Dinos Mitoglou, Sloukas and Grant kept the Greens within 51-44 at halftime. Nunn allowed Panathinaikos to regain the lead, 54-55, soon after the break, and got help from Lessort to boost the Greens' margin to 61-64. Canaan's triple fixed the score at 64-64 after 30 minutes. An unstoppable Nunn restored a 71-77 Panathinaikos edge with over 6 minutes left. Peters and Papanikolaou brought Olympiacos back in the game, 83-85, in the next-to-last minute. Lessort and Williams-Goss each split free throws, then Grant made both attempts to seal the outcome. Papankolaou missed from beyond micourt at the buzzer.
Bayern closer to German League glory
FC Bayern Munich regained the home-court advantage in the German League finals by edging ALBA Berlin 63-67 in Game 3 in the German capital. Bayern leads the best-of-five series 2-1 but ALBA hosts Game 4 at Uber Arena, home of the 2024 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four, on Friday. Andreas Obst led the winners with 14 points. Carsen Edwards added 12 for Bayern. Matt Thomas led ALBA with 17 points. Sterling Brown added 13 for the hosts.
Bayern had a good start, as Leo Bolmaro's three-pointer gave the guests a 0-5 lead. Tim Schneider led an 8-0 run that gave ALBA its first lead, 8-5. Nick Weiler-Babb, Obst and Devin Booker each struck from downtown to put Bayern ahead, 14-17, after 10 minutes. Obst insisted from beyond the arc and Issac Bonga's three-pointer boosted the guests' lead to 14-23. ALBA found a go-to guy in Yanni Wetzell, who almost singlehandedly restored a 27-26 lead. Edwards put Bayern back in charge, 28-31, at halftime. A wild four-point play by Thomas made ALBA regain a 36-35 lead. Once again, Bayern used three-pointers to regain the lead, as Serge Ibaka, Obst and Weiler-Babb put their team ahead, 45-48, after 30 minutes. Wetzell gave ALBA its last lead, 51-48. Vladimir Lucic, Bonga and Obst fueled a 0-13 run that put Bayern way ahead, 51-61, with over 4 minutes left. ALBA tied it again, 61-61, on a three-pointer by Thomas but Obst and Edwards took care of business in crunch time.
Zalgiris ends season with tough loss
Rytas Vilnius is the Lithuanian League champion. Rytas edged Zalgiris Kaunas 88-87 in Game 4 to win the best-of-five series 1-3 and claim its seventh Lithuanian League crown. Marcus Foster paced the winners with 32 points on 6-of-7 three-pointers. Edmond Sumner led Zalgiris with 21 points. Laurynas Birutis added 19 and 9 rebounds, Lukas Lekavicius had 16 points while Arnas Butkevicius got 10 for Zalgiris, which hit just 8 of 29 three-pointers (27.6%) in the Lithuanian capital.
After a slow start, Rolands Smits gave Zalgiris its first lead, 13-14, midway through the first quarter. Butkevicius followed a triple with a basket-plus-foul, getting help from Tomas Dimsa and Lekavicius to keep the guests in charge, 23-24, after 10 minutes. Zalgiris found a new go-to guys in Birutis, who helped his team boost its margin to 28-35. Foster stepped up for Rytas to make the hosts regain a 51-48 lead at halftime. Rytas boosted its margin to 61-53 soon after the break, then Zalgiris got within 70-65 after 30 minutes and took a 76-77 edge on a three-pointer by Lekavicius. Foster hit his sixth triple for an 83-81 Rytas lead, Lekavicius scored again and Dovydas Giedraitis put Zalgiris in charge, 86-87, with 26 seconds left. Foster hit the game-winning shot, as Lekavicius missed at the other end.