2018 EuroLeague Final Four

The 2018 EuroLeague Final Four was the concluding EuroLeague Final Four tournament of the 2017–18 EuroLeague season, the 61st season of Europe's premier club basketball tournament, and the 18th season since it was organised by Euroleague Basketball. It was the 31st Final Four of the modern EuroLeague Final Four era (1988–present), and the 33rd time overall that the competition had concluded with a final four format. The Final Four was played at the Štark Arena in Belgrade, Serbia, on 18 and 20 May 2018.^[2]

2018 EuroLeague Final Four

The official logo was unveiled on 13 February 2018[1]
Season	2017–18 EuroLeague
Tournament details
Arena	Štark Arena Belgrade, Serbia
Dates	18–20 May 2018
Final positions
Champions	Real Madrid (10th title)
Runners-up	Fenerbahçe Doğuş
Third place	Žalgiris
Fourth place	CSKA Moscow
Awards and statistics
MVP	Luka Dončić
← 2017 2019 →

Venue

On 26 October 2016 Euroleague Basketball announced that the Final Four would be held in the Štark Arena in Belgrade.^[2] It is designed as a universal hall for sports, cultural events and other programs. It was the first time the EuroLeague Final Four was hosted in Belgrade, or in the country of Serbia. The Arena's total floor area is 48,000 square metres. For sports, it has a regular seating capacity for fans of 18,386, and also has 70 luxury boxes, which include a total of 860 seats.^[3] The arena's cost was estimated at €70 million.^[4] Štark Arena is a member of the European Arenas Association (EAA).^[5]

Belgrade	Belgrade 2018 EuroLeague Final Four (Europe)
Štark Arena
Capacity: 18,386

Background

CSKA Moscow

CSKA Moscow finished the regular season as the number one seed, after having a 24–6 record. In the quarter-finals, the team played another Russian side in Khimki. CSKA won the series 3–1 over Khimki, after a controversial 88–89 win in Game 4.^[6] In the United League season, CSKA was in second place while battling for the first seed.

Fenerbahçe Doğuş

Fenerbahçe finished second in the regular season and defeated Kirolbet Baskonia in the quarter-finals. Fenerbahçe reached the Final Four for a fourth straight year. Head coach Željko Obradović had the opportunity to win his tenth EuroLeague title, a record for most titles by a coach.

Real Madrid

Madrid battled injuries during the regular season, as Sergio Llull, Ognjen Kuzmić and Rudy Fernández missed most of the games. As a five-seed, the team beat Panathinaikos in a controversial quarterfinal series, 1–3. The star player for Madrid during the season was Luka Dončić, who led the league in Performance Index Rating (PIR), and was later a top-three pick in the 2018 NBA draft. Dončić's games during the Final Four were televised in the United States, by NBA TV.

In the 2017–18 ACB season, Real Madrid was the number one seed.

Žalgiris

In the regular season, Žalgiris qualified as the sixth seed. Žalgiris won the series over favored Olympiacos, 3–1. For EuroLeague Legend Šarūnas Jasikevičius, this was his first visit to the Final Four as a head coach and also for the club since 1999. In its domestic LKL season, the club dominated as well, as it was in a secure first seed.

Bracket

	Semifinals				Championship game
	18 May
	CSKA Moscow	83
					20 May
	Real Madrid	92
					Real Madrid	85
	18 May
					Fenerbahçe Doğuş	80
	Fenerbahçe Doğuş	76
	Žalgiris	67
					Third place game
					20 May
					CSKA Moscow	77
					Žalgiris	79

Semifinals

Semifinal A

Russian champions CSKA Moscow returned to the Final Four to make it their seventh consecutive semi-final appearance. CSKA guard Sergio Rodríguez would play the semi-final against his former club, which he won the EuroLeague title with in 2015, as well as the EuroLeague MVP award in 2014.

Real Madrid would play its fourth Final Four in five years. The match would be a re-match of the 2017 third-place game. During the regular season, both teams won their respective games at home, with this game being considered a Real Madrid home game.

18 May 2018	CSKA Moscow	83–92	Real Madrid	Belgrade, Serbia
21:00 UTC+02:00	Scoring by quarter: 30–20, 16–27, 10–16, 27–29
	Pts: De Colo 20 Rebs: Hines 9 Asts: Rodríguez 6 PIR: Hines 23	Boxscore	Pts: Dončić, Llull 16 Rebs: Ayón 11 Asts: Llull 5 PIR: three players 18	Arena: Štark Arena Attendance: 15,232 Referees: Luigi Lamonica (ITA), Robert Lottermoser (GER), Matej Boltauzer (SLO)

CSKA Moscow v Real Madrid

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 13 Sergio Rodríguez 5 2 6 SG 22 Cory Higgins 15 2 3 SF 41 Nikita Kurbanov 7 1 0 PF 11 Semyon Antonov 0 0 0 C 44 Othello Hunter 4 7 0 Reserves: PG 1 Nando de Colo 20 1 1 C 3 Victor Rudd 0 0 0 SG 7 Vitaly Fridzon 0 0 0 PF 20 Andrey Vorontsevich 0 1 1 SF 21 Will Clyburn 16 7 2 PF 31 Victor Khryapa 0 1 0 C 42 Kyle Hines 16 9 1 Head coach: Dimitrios Itoudis

CSKA Moscow Real Madrid 0 CSKA Statistics R.Madrid 18/44 (40.9%) 2-pt field goals 17/34 (50%) 10/24 (41.7%) 3-pt field goals 12/27 (44.4%) 17/19 (89.5%) Free throws 22/36 (61.1%) 13 Offensive rebounds 14 25 Defensive rebounds 29 38 Total rebounds 43 14 Assists 20 13 Turnovers 13 4 Steals 6 3 Blocks 5 29 Fouls 22

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 11 Facundo Campazzo 0 1 1 SG 7 Luka Dončić 16 7 2 SF 44 Jeffery Taylor 3 1 0 PF 9 Felipe Reyes 5 2 0 C 14 Gustavo Ayón 12 11 1 Reserves: SG 1 Fabien Causeur 6 2 3 PF 3 Anthony Randolph 2 2 2 SF 5 Rudy Fernández 6 2 2 SG 20 Jaycee Carroll 9 2 3 C 22 Edy Tavares 5 0 0 PG 23 Sergio Llull 16 0 5 PF 33 Trey Thompkins 12 6 1 Head coach: Pablo Laso

Semifinal B

Defending champions Fenerbahçe Doğuş returned to the Final Four to make it their third straight appearance. Led by head coach Željko Obradović, the all-time record holder for most EuroLeague championships won by a head coach, it defeated Kirolbet Baskonia 1–3 in the quarter-finals, to clinch a semi-final spot.

Žalgiris Kaunas qualified for its first Final Four in 20 years, as the last time the team participated was in 1999, where it claimed the championship as well. The club beat Olympiacos 3–1 in the play-offs, despite not having home court advantage.

18 May 2018	Fenerbahçe Doğuş	76–67	Žalgiris Kaunas	Belgrade, Serbia
18:00 UTC+02:00	Scoring by quarter: 19–13, 20–20, 15–17, 22–17
	Pts: Muhammed 19 Rebs: Düverioğlu 5 Asts: Melli 6 PIR: Muhammed 18	Boxscore	Pts: Pangos 16 Rebs: Davies 11 Asts: Micić, Pangos 4 PIR: Davies 21	Arena: Štark Arena Attendance: 16,967 Referees: Daniel Hierrezuelo (ESP), Sreten Radović (CRO), Oļegs Latiševs (LAT)

Fenerbahçe Doğuş v Žalgiris Kaunas

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 11 Brad Wanamaker 9 1 3 SG 23 Marko Gudurić 0 0 1 SF 33 Nikola Kalinić 2 1 2 PF 24 Jan Veselý 8 3 0 C 44 Ahmet Düverioğlu 4 5 0 Reserves: PF 1 Jason Thompson 0 2 0 PF 4 Nicolò Melli 4 3 6 SG 10 Melih Mahmutoğlu DNP PG 16 Kostas Sloukas 14 1 3 SF 21 James Nunnally 0 0 1 PG 35 Ali Muhammed 19 1 0 SF 70 Luigi Datome 16 2 0 Head coach: Željko Obradović

Fenerbahçe Žalgiris 0 Fenerbahçe Statistics Žalgiris 24/42 (57.1%) 2-pt field goals 21/40 (52.5%) 7/18 (38.9%) 3-pt field goals 2/10 (20%) 7/11 (63.6%) Free throws 19/27 (70.4%) 9 Offensive rebounds 16 13 Defensive rebounds 21 22 Total rebounds 37 16 Assists 13 10 Turnovers 20 13 Steals 5 3 Blocks 2 27 Fouls 19

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 3 Kevin Pangos 16 5 4 SG 92 Edgaras Ulanovas 7 3 0 SF 6 Axel Toupane 6 1 1 PF 13 Paulius Jankūnas 4 4 0 C 0 Brandon Davies 12 11 2 Reserves: PG 9 Beno Udrih 2 1 0 C 19 Martynas Sajus DNP SG 21 Artūras Milaknis 0 0 1 SG 22 Vasilije Micić 5 1 4 PF 30 Aaron White 10 6 0 C 44 Antanas Kavaliauskas 5 2 1 PG 66 Paulius Valinskas DNP Head coach: Šarūnas Jasikevičius

Third place game

20 May 2018	CSKA Moscow	77–79	Žalgiris Kaunas	Belgrade
17:00 UTC+02:00	Scoring by quarter: 19–22, 16–19, 13–28, 29–10
	Pts: Kulagin, Hunter 14 Rebs: Hunter 8 Asts: three players 3 PIR: Hunter 25	Boxscore	Pts: Jankūnas, Micić 15 Rebs: White 7 Asts: Pangos, Micić 4 PIR: Jankūnas 17	Arena: Štark Arena Attendance: 14,548 Referees: Daniel Hierrezuelo (ESP), Elias Koromilas (GRE), Robert Lottermoser (GER)

CSKA Moscow v Žalgiris Kaunas

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 13 Sergio Rodríguez 9 1 3 SG 22 Cory Higgins 12 3 0 SF 41 Nikita Kurbanov 0 0 3 PF 11 Semyon Antonov 0 0 1 C 44 Othello Hunter 14 8 0 Reserves: PG 1 Nando de Colo 5 1 2 C 3 Victor Rudd 7 1 1 SG 7 Vitaly Fridzon 5 0 0 SF 21 Will Clyburn 2 3 1 PG 30 Mikhail Kulagin 14 2 1 PF 31 Victor Khryapa 3 1 0 C 42 Kyle Hines 6 3 3 Head coach: Dimitrios Itoudis

CSKA Moscow Žalgiris 0 CSKA Statistics Žalgiris 14/37 (37.8%) 2-pt field goals 25/43 (58.1%) 12/29 (41.4%) 3-pt field goals 5/11 (45.5%) 13/24 (54.2%) Free throws 14/21 (66.7%) 13 Offensive rebounds 10 18 Defensive rebounds 27 31 Total rebounds 37 15 Assists 16 9 Turnovers 19 8 Steals 1 5 Blocks 1 23 Fouls 25

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 3 Kevin Pangos 9 1 4 SG 92 Edgaras Ulanovas 14 1 0 SF 6 Axel Toupane 6 4 0 PF 13 Paulius Jankūnas 15 5 2 C 0 Brandon Davies 2 4 1 Reserves: PG 9 Beno Udrih 2 2 2 PF 20 Gytis Masiulis DNP SG 21 Artūras Milaknis 3 3 1 SG 22 Vasilije Micić 15 4 4 PF 30 Aaron White 4 7 2 C 44 Antanas Kavaliauskas 9 5 0 PG 66 Paulius Valinskas DNP Head coach: Šarūnas Jasikevičius

Championship game

20 May 2018	Real Madrid	85–80	Fenerbahçe Doğuş	Belgrade
20:00 UTC+02:00	Scoring by quarter: 21–17, 17–23, 25–15, 22–25
	Pts: Causeur 17 Rebs: three players 5 Asts: Dončić 4 PIR: Causeur 21	Boxscore	Pts: Melli 28 Rebs: Melli 6 Asts: Wanamaker 5 PIR: Melli 27	Arena: Štark Arena Attendance: 16,967 Referees: Luigi Lamonica (ITA), Borys Ryzhyk (UKR), Oļegs Latiševs (LAT)

Real Madrid v Fenerbahçe Doğuş

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 11 Facundo Campazzo 0 1 0 SG 7 Luka Dončić 15 3 4 SF 1 Fabien Causeur 17 2 2 PF 9 Felipe Reyes 6 3 0 C 14 Gustavo Ayón 4 2 1 Reserves: PF 3 Anthony Randolph 3 1 0 SF 5 Rudy Fernández 5 5 3 SG 20 Jaycee Carroll 9 0 0 C 22 Edy Tavares 8 5 2 PG 23 Sergio Llull 5 0 2 PF 33 Trey Thompkins 10 5 1 SF 44 Jeffery Taylor 3 3 1 Head coach: Pablo Laso

Real Madrid Fenerbahçe 0 R.Madrid Statistics Fenerbahçe 16/32 (50%) 2-pt field goals 21/39 (53.8%) 9/21 (42.9%) 3-pt field goals 7/20 (35%) 26/34 (76.5%) Free throws 17/20 (85%) 13 Offensive rebounds 10 24 Defensive rebounds 19 37 Total rebounds 29 16 Assists 17 12 Turnovers 12 8 Steals 4 3 Blocks 2 26 Fouls 27 2017–18 EuroLeague champions Real Madrid 10th title

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 11 Brad Wanamaker 14 5 5 SG 23 Marko Gudurić 0 1 2 SF 33 Nikola Kalinić 7 3 1 PF 24 Jan Veselý 3 5 2 C 44 Ahmet Düverioğlu 8 1 0 Reserves: PF 1 Jason Thompson 0 0 0 PF 4 Nicolò Melli 28 6 1 SG 10 Melih Mahmutoğlu DNP PG 16 Kostas Sloukas 7 1 4 SF 21 James Nunnally 0 0 1 PG 35 Ali Muhammed 7 2 1 SF 70 Luigi Datome 6 2 0 Head coach: Željko Obradović