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.

Venue On 26 October 2016 Euroleague Basketball announced that the Final Four would be held in the Štark Arena in Belgrade. 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. The arena's cost was estimated at €70 million. Štark Arena is a member of the European Arenas Association (EAA).

Belgrade 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.The controversial finale of Khimki – CSKA 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 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.

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

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.

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

Third place game

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

Championship game

R.MadridStatistics 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 Madrid10th title Team captains (C): Felipe Reyes (Real Madrid and Melih Mahmutoğlu (Fenerbahçe )

References

External links Official website