Championship Sunday in Kaunas was the third time that Adam Hanga woke up in the morning with a chance to become a EuroLeague champion that day and this time he finally sealed the deal to win his first Turkish Airlines EuroLeague crown. Hanga had previously played in three Final Fours, one each with Baskonia, FC Barcelona and Real, and lost in the championship games in both 2021 and 2022.
"Finally, right? Now I can retire", an elated Hanga jokingly said, still in disbelief, holding his trophy in Real Madri's locker room at Zalgirio Arena after the championship game win over Olympiacos Piraeus.
The 34-year-old do-it-all guard, a veteran of nine EuroLeague campaigns, had to make quite an adjustment this season because Hanga played the fewest minutes since his rookie season in 2013-14, and had statistically his worst season since then. But Hanga, a former EuroLeague Best Defender, adjusted on the fly and used his experience, both on and off the floor, to provide Los Blancos numerous times with a timely spark, whether as a starter or in limited minutes off the bench, making plays on either end of the floor. And when Real's season was hanging by a thread, Coach Chus Mateo turned to Hanga to start Game 4 of the best-of-five series against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, a move that immediately paid off. Hanga responded with 15 points on 3-for-6 two-point shooting, 3-for-5 on three-pointers and 3 assists in 21 minutes on the floor.