There was very little to separate the two teams, who needed overtime to determine this year’s champion
Real Madrid, PFBB players reflect on 2024 ANGT Championship Game thriller
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The championship game at the 2024 Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Finals will go down in history as one for the ages. U18 Real Madrid and U18 PFBB INSEP Paris went back and forth all game, and overtime was needed to determine a champion.
Real went on to win 85-84 to defend its title and add a record fifth trophy to its collection, but what was it like playing in the final?
“It was amazing. A lot of mixed emotions,” said Real star Hugo Gonzalez, the MVP of the ANGT Finals who scored 23 points to go with 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals and 1 block against PFBB. “The only thought I had during the game was, ‘We can’t lose this. We are fighting and it’s impossible that we are fighting for nothing.’ Our team did a great job all year believing in itself. The only thought now is we achieved the goal we had since the first day of the season.”
Of Gonzalez’s 23 points, three came thanks to a triple with 20 seconds left which tied the game and sent it to overtime. There were 15 lead changes and 10 ties for the contest in front of a packet house at Uber Eats Music Hall, with the lead changing hands 11 times in the final 5:11 minutes of regulation and overtime. In the last three minutes of the extra session alone, there were seven lead changes.
The famous Real Madrid DNA ended up shining through after Los Blancos found themselves trailing by six points on three occasions in the second quarter and down by seven points in the third stanza.
“This game showed that we have heart, playing until the end,” added Gonzalez. “We were down seven and we came back. They punched us, but we got back up.”
“The emotions were unbelievable, amazing. We live for games like this. It was magic, but we lost,” said a dejected PFBB point guard Talis Soulhac, who picked up 10 points and 7 assists.
A crazy end to the ANGT Championship Game
One of the defining factors of the ANGT Championship Game was the number of big plays made by the star players on the floor. For a moment, it looked like PFBB’s Hugo Yimga Moukouri was going to become the hero after he grabbed a miss and somehow fought it back up for an and-one to make it 70-73. However, Gonzalez responded soon after with his aforementioned three-pointer to knot things up.
In overtime, the teams’ big-name players – Gonzalez and Ismaila Diagne for Real, Nolan Traore and Jonas Boulefaa for PFBB – came to the floor, with Boulefaa’s circus shot with 1:32 minutes giving the French side an 80-81 edge.
Inside the final minute, Real’s Asier Miguel missed a corner three but teammate Declan Duru flew in to grab the offensive rebound and put it back in while being fouled, before converting the bonus free throw. That was answered by a huge corner triple from Boulefaa and PFBB was up 83-84 with 18 seconds remaining.
Gonzalez took responsibility but missed his shot, only to have Diagne – a player he has been playing with for four years – grab the rebound and draw a foul. Despite fighting through foul trouble, the Senegalese big was still on the court and calmly made both foul shots for an 85-84 lead with 11 seconds to go after having made only 4 of 10 from the line in the game.
PFBB’s star Traore then missed his three-point attempt, allowing Real’s players and staff to start the celebrations.
“For me, I aways enjoy it. It was hard for me to stay in the game [with foul trouble],” said Diagne who, like fellow Real stars Gonzalez, Egor Demin and Mitar Bosnjakovic, was playing his final game for Los Blancos’ youth program. “But in the end, when my team needed me I made the free throws.”
“I am really excited to win it in Germany in front of my family and friends in Berlin,” commented German native Duru. “I don’t have words to explain how happy I am right now. I was nervous, we were nervous. We knew we were going to get the win because we knew our defensive strengths. We knew if we just defend hard on offense, we will find answers and get the win.”
Real Madrid eyeing more history
Duru now has an ANGT crown of his own, but the German forward is 2007 born, meaning he will be back next season and can help Real attempt to secure a three-peat, something only one club has managed to do before – CSKA Moscow between 2004 and 2006.
“We will have to defend our title,” added Duru. “We will do our best because it’s what we do. We are Real Madrid and we win European championships.”
But it’s hard to imagine any ANGT Championship Game matching the thrill of Real’s victory over PFBB in 2024 in Berlin, an instant classic for fans and players alike.