Third time's a charm for Adam Hanga
Real Madrid swingman Adam Hanga had to wait until the 255th game of his Turkish Airlines EuroLeague career to claim his first title in Europe's premier club basketball competition. He was also playing in his third consecutive championship game, following narrow losses with FC Barcelona in 2021 and Los Blancos in 2022.
Hanga was ecstatic after the game and stated that becoming a EuroLeague champion had been worth it, as EuroLeague Basketball spoke with him on the floor right after the game.
"Oh, my God! I have been waiting for this for so, so long," Hanga said. "I have been in the EuroLeague for 10-11 years and it was my third final in a row – and after so many disappointments and failures, let's say. But this team is something different. I cannot explain how we did it today."
In fact, Hanga is the only player in EuroLeague history to reach the Final Four with Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, Barca and Real. Not many players had to wait over 250 games to lift the trophy, too. James Gist leads this list with 297 games, followed by Ante Tomic (283), Edgaras Ulanovas (272), Arturas Milaknis (265), Lukas Lekavicius (263) and Ioannis Papapetrou (257). Hanga was seventh, but not anymore.
"I've been waiting for this for my whole life!"
He believes that after losing last season's EuroLeague Championship Game by 1 point, fate had to do a little bit with what happened at Zalgirio Arena.
"If you look back, you always think that, in the past, things happen for a reason," Hanga noted. "Maybe we had to lose that game. Maybe we had to be down 0-2 against Partizan [Mozzart Bet Belgrade] to have this moment. But this is amazing. Amazing! I've been waiting for this for my whole life."
Hanga ended up contributing 2 points and 3 rebounds in 11 minutes as a starter, and his defense against Kostas Papanikolaou was one of the keys to the game. Papanikolaou had 15 points in Olympiacos's semifinal win against AS Monaco, yet just 6 in the championship game.
"It would have been hard to lose three in a row"
His grandfather, Gyorgy Szep, who raised him as a father, passed away in 2019 and Hanga has been waiting ever since to dedicate the EuroLeague title to him. This time, Hanga finally managed to do so.
"This is especially for him, and for all the people that believed in me," Hanga added. "I received so many messages today that today is going to be my day. It would have been hard to lose three in a row, and that is why I was so excited on the bench. We got it!"
Game Videos
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Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade-Olympiacos Piraeus | RS Round 15 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Real Madrid-Zalgiris Kaunas | RS Round 15 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:14
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Tavares's huge block! Motorola Magic Moment
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Olympiacos Piraeus-Paris Basketball | RS Round 14 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:15
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Reds go stealing and dunking! Motorola Magic Moment
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Real Madrid-Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul | RS Round 14 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:43
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Shaq McKissic: 'I appreciate Coach for allowing me to play through my mistakes'
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AS Monaco-Olympiacos Piraeus | RS Round 13 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne-Real Madrid | RS Round 13 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:13
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Gabriel Deck with a fine dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
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FC Barcelona-Real Madrid | RS Round 12 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade-Olympiacos Piraeus | RS Round 12 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:20
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Tavares blocks with authority! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:12
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Hezonja with the up and under! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:09
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Campazzo magic! Motorola Magic Moment
- 01:07
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Facu Campazzo: 'When we play good defense, on offense we are really good'
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Real Madrid-ALBA Berlin | RS Round 11 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Olympiacos Piraeus-Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz | RS Round 11 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 01:15
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Evan Fournier: 'It's a privilege and a pleasure to play in front of these fans’
- 01:07
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Sasha Vezenkov: 'We are more than happy'
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Real Madrid-Anadolu Efes Istanbul | RS Round 10 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:16
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Hezonja dunks over the entire defense! Motorola Magic Moment
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Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv–Olympiacos Piraeus | RS Round 10 highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:41
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Mario Hezonja: 'We started to take care of business'
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Real Madrid-Virtus Segafredo Bologna | RS Round 9 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 01:00
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Nikola Milutinov: 'This is why the EuroLeague is so strong'
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Olympiacos Piraeus-LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne | RS Round 9 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:23
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Tavares says no! Motorola Magic Moment
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Straight from the court: Fournier and Vezenkov analyze Greek derby outcome | Post-game show
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Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens-Olympiacos Piraeus | RS Round 8 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 01:23
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Sasha Vezenkov: 'I missed this derby so much'
- 01:42
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Shaq McKissic relives his best Greek derby plays
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EA7 Emporio Armani Milan-Real Madrid | RS Round 8 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:12
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Hezonja takes it all the way! Magic Moment
- 01:06
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Nikola Milutinov: 'We showed what we can do'
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Olympiacos Piraeus-FC Barcelona | RS Round 7 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv-Real Madrid | RS Round 7 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:17
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Real's ultimate team play! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:11
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McKissic detonates the dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:12
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Hezonja beats the buzzer! Motorola Magic Moment
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Olympiacos Piraeus-Real Madrid | RS Round 6 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 01:39
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Sasha Vezenkov: 'We are good players, we just need to become a good team'
- 00:09
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Campazzo’s behind-the-back assist! Motorola Magic Moment
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FC Bayern Munich-Olympiacos Piraeus | RS Round 5 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:08
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Peters stops Booker! Motorola Magic Moment
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Real Madrid-Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade | RS Round 5 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:22
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Campazzo superlative pass for Ndiaye dunk! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
- 01:16
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Facu Campazzo: 'Vinicius is awesome, he supports us'
- 00:15
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Great alley-oop dunk from Tavares! Motorola Magic Moment
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Anadolu Efes Istanbul-Olympiacos Piraeus | RS Round 4 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
