Hapoel Tel Aviv captured the EuroCup title, defeating Gran Canaria 103-94 and sweeping the best-of-3 finals series 2-0 to hand the Reds the continental championship as well as a place in next season’s Euroleague. It was Hapoel’s game right from the get go as the Israeli team shot lights out from deep going an incredible 15/26 (57.7%) from beyond the 3-point arc, setting a EuroCup finals record while Antonio Blakeney and MVP Johnathan Motley proved to be unstoppable for the entire contest.

The Reds got off to a quick start and grabbed a 29-21 lead after ten minutes of action but the hosts rattled off a 13-0 run in the second quarter to cut down the gap, however more points from Blakeney gave Hapoel a 53-44 advantage at halftime. Motley along with Yam Madar and Tomer Ginat together with Blakeney continued to score at will to begin the second half as Gran Canaria had no answers to slowdown Head Coach Dimitrios Itoudis’s team as they went on to cruise to the title.

For Itoudis, he joins an exclusive list of coaches who have won both the Euroleague and EuroCup which includes David Blatt, Ergin Ataman and Dusan Ivkovic.

Blakeney scored 27 points, Motley added 26 points and Madar scored 16 points in the win. George Conditt scored 18 points while both Joe Thomasson and John Shurna each scored 14 points in the loss.

“We feel amazing,” Itoudis began. “Proud and great because we made so many people proud here. This team is writing history, 15 players won a European title for the first time. Hapoel showed its strength and we also played great basketball. I talked to a lot of colleagues who said they enjoyed our games too. We had rhythm, we score and defend and play with a lot of pride and a good game plan.”

“Congratulations to my entire team, especially Coach Stefanos Dadas who started this season with general manager George Hinas. The doctors did an amazing owner Ofer Yannay, he brought the motto and the vision, all his passion and desire to constantly improve Hapoel is something else,” he added.

The MVP Johnathan Motley also spoke about the championship, “I was very confident in my team. We worked real hard, we have a great locker room, everybody trusts each other, so right now I’m calm. I’m just glad we got it done. I envisaged myself doing the trophy thing all week. It’s just crazy that I’m in it right now. I’m just out of body right now, to be honest.”

Antonio Blakeney added, “It feels great. Obviously winning is the main thing, but we won this way and it feels great. We stayed together. We’ve got a team right now where everyone likes each other, everyone knows each other’s game, so it’s easy to play well like that. I’m always a confident guy, but definitely that boosted my confidence [his big quarter against Valencia], and my teammates really keep me confident. Whether I’m missing or making, they always motivate me.”

Yam Madar also shared his thoughts on the win, “For sure, that was the goal from the beginning when I arrived at Hapoel: to make it to the Euroleague. The road was very difficult. We’ve been through a lot. We didn’t play so good at the beginning. To see how everything and how the journey summed up to a point where we actually made it after 2-0, playing great basketball, being together, everyone happy for each other. Behind us is an unbelievable community that was waiting for a title for 52 years. To bring them a title after 52 years is something unbelievable. 

“You see the guys over here and we have so many others in Israel watching us. We’re just happy for them. I just tried to do whatever I can to bring this team to the EuroLeague. It is 100% [special]. I know that by playing I’m risking my career, my knee. But it was a no-brainer for me to come and just to do whatever I can just to try to help this team win. I am just happy, a lot of teammates came over here tonight and played great. It’s a really special group.”

Tomer Ginat went from deep to get the game underway while Motley put in a 3-point play and Madar drilled home a pair of tripes to give Hapoel a quick 14-4 lead while more points from Blakeney and yet another Madar 3-pointer gave the Reds a 29-21 lead after ten minutes of play. Noam Yaacov and Marcus Foster dialed up from long distance for the reds while Andrew Albicy paced the hosts to a 13-0 run but the duo of Motley and Madar sent Itoudis’s team into halftime with a 53-44 advantage.

Thomasson came out of halftime on fire with a pair from deep while Nicolas Brussino also went from downtown but Blakeney nailed a pair from beyond the arc at the other end while Motley and Madar bumped the lead up to 86-74 after 30 minutes of action. Bruno Caboclo opened the final frame with a 3-pointer and added a deuce in the paint while Blakeney continued to hit his shots to send the Reds to the well deserved victory.