### Montepaschi, Barcelona triumph in semis

Montepaschi Siena and Benetton Treviso faced each other in an all-Italian semifinal at Palau Sant Jordi, in which Manuchar Markoishvili became the still-youngest player ever to appear in a Final Four, at 16 years, 5 months and 21 days old. It all came down to the final minute, in which Vrbica Stefanovic gave Montepaschi a 62-60 lead. Massimo Bulleri put Benetton ahead with a three-pointer and soon added free throws to complete the final score, 62-65. Jorge Garbajosa led Benetton with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

In the second semifinal, FC Barcelona topped CSKA Moscow 76-71. In a close affair, Juan Carlos Navarro provided the biggest highlight of the game with a fastbreak layup off a steal that sealed the outcome with 22 seconds to go. Barcelona won behind 21 points from Gregor Fucka and 17 from Dejan Bodiroga, who made clutch free throws in the closing seconds to send the home fans into ecstasy.

### Barca breaks through for first title

FC Barcelona won its first-ever EuroLeague title after defeating Benetton Treviso 76-65 in the championship game at Palau Sant Jordi, almost 20 years after the first of five previous losing attempts in the title-decider. A trio of three-pointers midway through the final quarter - from Sarunas Jasikevicius, Juan Carlos Navarro and Dejan Bodiroga - broke open a 3-point game to give Barca an 11-point lead with 90 seconds left. Bodiroga had 20 points and became the first player to get back-to-back Final Four MVP awards with different teams. Gregor Fucka added 17 points. Tyus Edney led Benetton with 16. Barcelona head coach Svetislav Pesic became the third person to win the EuroLeague as player and coach, after Armenak Alachachan and Lolo Sainz.

"The semis and the final, with 16,000 fans or more, it was a demonstration of great organization and the beautiful event that is the Final Four," MVP Bodiroga said. "To win it is a precious thing, a title with weight behind it."

### [Game Info](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2002-03/fc-barcelona-benetton-treviso/E2002/220/)

Final Four 2003 Barcelona

### Panathinaikos, Kinder outlast rivals in semis

In the first EuroLeague Final Four this century in Bologna, Italy, Panathinaikos Athens and Kinder Bologna earned the right to play in the championship game after semifinals victories. Panathinaikos defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv in the first game 83-75. The Greens rode the hot hand of Dejan Bodiroga, who gave Panathinaikos control of a back-and-forth battle early in the fourth quarter and finished with 27 points and 9 rebounds. Big men Darryl Middleton and Lazaros Papadopoulos combined for 24 points, while Maccabi's top scorer was Tal Burstein with 16 points off the bench.

Defending champion Kinder advanced to the title game after holding off Italian League rival Benetton Treviso 82-90 at home at PalaMalaguti. Kinder used a 10-0 run to open the fourth quarter and snap a 63-63 tie. Marko Jaric paced the winners with 18 points, David Andersen added 15 points and Manu Ginobili and Sani Becirovic scored 14 each. Tyus Edney and Charlie Bell paced Benetton with 19 points apiece.

### Bodiroga, Kutluay lead Greens to glory

Panathinaikos became the first - and to date only – team to win a EuroLeague championship game on its opponents' home floor when it erased a 14-point second-quarter deficit to beat Kinder Bologna 83-89. After a second-quarter burst that gave rise to euphoria among the Kinder fans, Panathinaikos worked its way back into the game. Center Lazaros Papadopoulos was the catalyst of the comeback, but in the second half veterans Dejan Bodiroga and Ibrahim Kutluay took over. Kutluay scored 22 points for Panathinaikos, while Bodiroga, voted Final Four MVP, had 21 and Papadopoulos 12 points in victory. For Kinder, Manu Ginobili netted 27 and Matjaz Smodis had 13 points.

### [Game Info](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2001-02/kinder-virtus-bologna-panathinaikos-athens/E2001/275/)

"Let me tell you that it wasn't easy to beat Kinder at home, and they have a great coach in Messina who has done impressive things this season and will continue to do so in the future," a prophetic Panathinaikos coach Zeljko Obradovic said after the championship game. "After winning my first Final Four with Partizan in 1992, my mentor, Aco Nikolic, told me, 'This will be the first you will win of many.' And all I thought was 'this guy is crazy!' I thought that that could not be repeated, but he was right. Nikolic is always right."

Final Four 2002 Bologna

For Turkish Airlines EuroLeague players, there is nothing like reaching your first Final Four. Tomas Satoransky of FC Barcelona talks about that accomplishment, what got him and his team there, and how much he is looking forward to the 2023 Final Four in Kaunas, Lithuania.

 First-time feelings:Tomas Satoransky, Barcelona 

For Turkish Airlines EuroLeague players, there is nothing like reaching your first Final Four. [Tomas Satoransky](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/tomas-satoransky/002939/) of FC Barcelona talks about that accomplishment, what got him and his team there, and how much he is looking forward to the 2023 Final Four in Kaunas, Lithuania.

First-time feelings: Tomas Satoransky, Barcelona

For Turkish Airlines EuroLeague players, there is nothing like reaching your first Final Four. Mario Hezonja of Real Madrid talks about that accomplishment, what got him and his team there, and how much he is looking forward to the 2023 Final Four in Kaunas, Lithuania.

 First-time feelings: Mario Hezonja, Real Madrid 

For Turkish Airlines EuroLeague players, there is nothing like reaching your first Final Four. [Mario Hezonja](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/mario-hezonja/003108/) of Real Madrid talks about that accomplishment, what got him and his team there, and how much he is looking forward to the 2023 Final Four in Kaunas, Lithuania.

First-time feelings: Mario Hezonja, Real Madrid

7DAYS Magic Moment of the Season: Dante Exum, Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade

The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague has once again witnessed some of the best basketball plays on the planet, and now the fans have spoked and voted Dante Exum of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade as the winner of the 2022-23 7DAYS Magic Moment of the Season.

During a Round 30 game between Partizan and Olympiacos Piraeus, Exum delivered a stunning one-handed dunk over Olympiacos center Joel Bolomboy. Early in the fourth quarter, Exum received the ball on the perimeter as Olympiacos's Giannoulis Larentzakis was applying defensive pressure. Exum took a couple steps back before flashing past his defender and toward the rim. As he picked up speed, he elevated to deliver a thunderous dunk while posterizing the Reds' center Bolomboy who rose well above the rim trying to block the shot, but to no avail.

Exum was able to secure the greatest number of votes by the fans, beating out the game-winner by Olympiacos guard Kostas Sloukas on the road against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in Game 3 of the playoffs, which came in second place.

Exum, 27, is the seventh 7DAYS Magic Moment of the Season winner. Sloukas won the award last season for his game-winning triple in overtime against Anadolu Efes Istanbul. The other Magic Moment of the Season winners are Anthony Randolph, who won the award in its inaugural 2016-17 season; Jan Vesely, then of Fenerbahce, who is the only player to win it multiple times, having done so in 2017-18, 2018-19 and again in 2020-21 season; and Deni Avdija, then of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, the winner in 2019-20.

The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague has once again witnessed some of the best basketball plays on the planet, but the fans have spoken and the winner of this season's 7DAYS Magic Moment of the Season for 2022-23 is Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade guard Dante Exum, which is his first such award.

7DAYS Magic Moment of the Season, 2022-23: Dante Exum, Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade

For Turkish Airlines EuroLeague players, there is nothing like reaching your first Final Four. Yakuba Ouattara of AS Monaco talks about that accomplishment, what got him and his team there, and how much he is looking forward to the 2023 Final Four in Kaunas, Lithuania.

 First-time feelings: Yakuba Ouattara, Monaco 

For Turkish Airlines EuroLeague players, there is nothing like reaching your first Final Four. [Yakuba Ouattara](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/yakuba-ouattara/004197/) of AS Monaco talks about that accomplishment, what got him and his team there, and how much he is looking forward to the 2023 Final Four in Kaunas, Lithuania.

First-time feelings: Yakuba Ouattara, Monaco

Walter Tavares of Real Madrid has been chosen as the 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Best Defender for the third time in his career.

Walter Tavares is the 2022-23 EuroLeague Best Defender

[Walter Tavares](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/walter-tavares/005791/) of Real Madrid has been chosen as the 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Best Defender for the third time in his career.

Tavares has achieved this honor after a vote conducted among EuroLeague head coaches. He set a new record for most blocked shots in a EuroLeague season – 84 and counting. Tavares's intimidation factor has forced opponents to change shots all season long, and that is one of the main reasons why Real has the best two-point defense in the competition. Opponents hit just hit 49.7% of their two-point shots against *Los Blancos*; no other EuroLeague team is under 50% in this statistical category. The 31-year-old's wingspan, size, timing and great overall activity convinced the head coaches that Tavares deserved to win the award for the third time after previously securing the honor in 2019 and 2021.

The Best Defender Trophy is one of several end-of-season awards that recognizes the elite play of the best players in the EuroLeague. The first of this season's honorees was Sasha Vezenkov of Olympiacos Piraeus as the winner of this season's Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy. Subsequently, Yam Madar of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade was announced as the EuroLeague Rising Star, another award chosen exclusively by the head coaches. The identity of the All-EuroLeague teams will be revealed shortly, as will the EuroLeague MVP and Coach of the Year awards. The Executive of the Year award will be announced in the summer.

Thomas Walkup of Olympiacos followed Tavares in the voting for the Best Defender Trophy. John Brown of AS Monaco was third in the head coaches' voting, Mathias Lessort of Partizan came fourth and Alpha Diallo of Monaco finished fifth. Among others receiving votes were Kyle Hines of EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, Shaquielle McKissic of Olympiacos, Tomas Satoransky of FC Barcelona, Alessandro Pajola of Virtus Segafredo Bologna, Kostas Papanikolaou of Olympiacos, Josh Nebo of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv and Nick Calathes of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul.

2022-23 EuroLeague Best Defender: Walter Tavares

Tavares has averaged 10.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 2.2 blocks in 38 EuroLeague games this season. He had a career-high 6 blocks in Round 13 against FC Bayern Munich, and he blocked 4 shots five more times: against Panathinaikos Athens, Anadolu Efes Istanbul, Zalgiris Kaunas, Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade and ALBA Berlin. Thanks to Tavares's defensive efforts, Real is the runaway leader in defensive rebounds at 26.5 per night.

Tavares picked up basketball late in his childhood, but he showed enough talent and potential that Gran Canaria brought him to its academy when he was just 17. After spending the 2011-12 season and the beginning of the next season on loan with La Palma, the Spanish side's affiliate team, Tavares made his Spanish League debut with Gran Canaria in January 2013. Tavares earned All-EuroCup First Team honors in the 2014-15 season after helping Gran Canaria reach the finals. He later spent two seasons in the NBA and the G League before joining Real in November 2017. Tavares helped Real win the EuroLeague in their first season together. With *Los Blancos*, Tavares has also won three Spanish League titles and a Copa del Rey crown. He was chosen to the All-EuroLeague First Team in each of the last two seasons, while he earned 2018-19 All-EuroLeague Second Team honors, too. Tavares has also been chosen as the EuroLeague MVP of the Month three times in his career.

Tavares becomes the third player to be chosen as the EuroLeague Best Defender three times. The first was Dimitris Diamantidis of Panathinaikos Athens (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011), who won the award six times. Kyle Hines also received the award three times: with CSKA Moscow in 2015 and 2018, and with Milan last season. Bryant Dunston of Efes received the award in consecutive seasons with Olympiacos in 2014 and 2015. In addition to the aforementioned winners, CSKA players Victor Khryapa and Andrei Kirilenko secured the award in 2010 and 2012, respectively, Stephane Lasme was the 2013 winner with Panathinaikos and Adam Hanga, then of Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, took home the trophy in 2017.

For Turkish Airlines EuroLeague players, there is nothing like reaching your first Final Four. Tarik Black of Olympiacos Piraeus talks about that accomplishment, what got him and his team there, and how much he is looking forward to the 2023 Final Four in Kaunas, Lithuania.

 First-time feelings: Tarik Black, Olympiacos 

For Turkish Airlines EuroLeague players, there is nothing like reaching your first Final Four. [Tarik Black](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/tarik-black/008991/) of Olympiacos Piraeus talks about that accomplishment, what got him and his team there, and how much he is looking forward to the 2023 Final Four in Kaunas, Lithuania.

First-time feelings: Tarik Black, Olympiacos

 Final Four + Kaunas = Hoops Heaven 

The best weekend in world basketball comes to the country where the sport is known as a second religion when the [Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/final-four/) lands in Kaunas, Lithuania, from May 18 to 21. The most intense and competitive season imaginable will reach a crescendo over four action-packed days with a city devoted to basketball throwing a party for global visitors and a worldwide audience. The fun in the streets will only be matched by the passion inside the gleaming Zalgirio Arena. For basketball lovers, it will be nothing short of hoops heaven.

Final Four 2003 Barcelona

Final Four 2002 Bologna

First-time feelings: Tomas Satoransky, Barcelona

First-time feelings: Mario Hezonja, Real Madrid

7DAYS Magic Moment of the Season: Dante Exum, Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade

First-time feelings: Yakuba Ouattara, Monaco

Walter Tavares is the 2022-23 EuroLeague Best Defender

First-time feelings: Tarik Black, Olympiacos

Final Four + Kaunas = Hoops Heaven!