Galatasaray S.K. win EuroLeague 1 Final for second consecutive year

Bidaideak Bilbao hosted eight teams from across Europe in the EuroLeague 1 Final (formerly the André Vergauwen) between Friday 27^th April until Sunday 29^th April.

The eight teams, from Turkey, Great Britain, Spain, Austria, and Germany, were split across two groups, and the group games proved to be extremely competitive with several games being a closely fought contests. Host Spain’s Bidaideak Bilbao BSR defeated Turkey’s Galatasaray S.K. in a nail-biting game that ended 80-77 which resulted in the hosts topping Group A.

In Group B, Turkey’s Beşiktaş RMK Marine won all their games to finish top of the pool, whilst Great Britain’s The Owls battled to defeat Kardemir Karabükspor Kulübü, also from Turkey, 69-57 to finish second.

The final standings of the group stages meant the first semi-final was between Bilbao and The Owls. The Owls side could not match the scoring threat of Spain’s Asier Garcia and David Mouriz, who scored 17 points apiece and assisted the Spanish team to a 73-59 win. In the other semi-final it was a Turkish derby as Galatasaray matched up against Beşiktaş RMK Marine, in what was a physical game it was Galatasaray who outscored Beşiktaş RMK Marine, 62-51, to make their way through to the semi-final.

The final was a rematch of a game that had taken place in the earlier group stages between Bilbao and Galatasaray. This game was just as intense as the group stage game but this time the outcome was reversed, as Galatasaray avenged their previous loss by beating the hosts by 2 points, 73-71, and claiming the EuroLeague 1 title for the second year running.

All-Star 5: Ferit Gumus (3, Beşiktaş RMK Marine), Gregg Warburton (2, The Owls), Joshua Turek (3.5, Bilbao), Ismail Ar (1.5, Galatasaray), Asier Garcia (4, Bilbao)

Results & Statistics



Article written by Dylan Cummings, IWBF Junior Writer. Photo Credit: FotoBSR