Host Milan, Italy Runners-up Real Madrid Top scorer(s) Sergio Rodríguez, 42 Dates 16 May 2014 – 18 May 2014 Arena Mediolanum Forum | Champions Maccabi Tel Aviv Fourth place CSKA Moscow Champion Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. MVP Tyrese Rice Third place FC Barcelona Bàsquet | |
Location Mediolanum Forum, Assago, Italy Similar 2015 Euroleague Final Four, 2016 Euroleague Final Four, EuroBasket 2013 | ||
The 2014 Euroleague Final Four was the concluding Euroleague Final Four tournament of 2013–14 Euroleague basketball season. It was held from 16–18 May 2014. All of the games were played at the Mediolanum Forum, in Milan. Maccabi Tel Aviv upset CSKA Moscow 68–67 in the first semi-final, while Real Madrid dominated FC Barcelona 100–62 in the second semi-final. In the final, Maccabi upset highly favored Real 98–86, in the first overtime final since 1969. The win gave Maccabi their sixth Euroleague title.
Contents
Semifinals
All times are CEST (UTC+2).
CSKA Moscow vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv
CSKA Moscow entered their semi-final matchup against Maccabi Tel Aviv having won both regular season meetings. It looked like Moscow would make it 3–0 on the year when they took a 55–40 late in the third quarter. However, led by guard Tyrese Rice and a large majority of the fans in attendance, Maccabi launch a fourth quarter comeback. Rice's steal and layup with 5 seconds to play gave Maccabi a 68–67 lead, and Sonny Weems missed a contested three pointer at the buzzer. Maccabi's David Blu led all scorers with 15 points.
Barcelona vs. Real Madrid
Real Madrid entered the Final Four as the clear favorite, having recorded the highest point differential in both group (plus 237) and Final 16 play (plus 143). Between the two stage they held a 24–4 record.
After FC Barcelona got off to a 12–4 start, the semi-final game was all Real Madrid. Real scored 14 3-pointers and a blistering pace to beat their Spanish rivals for the fifth time in six games on the year. Real's Sergio Rodríguez led all-scorers with 21 points, followed by teammate Nikola Mirotić who scored 19. Three other Real players scored more than 10 points.
Final
Before the game, Real Madrid was heavily favored as they sought a league-record ninth title. Real got off to a good start, taking an 11-point lead in the first half behind a 19–2 run. However, Maccabi Tel Aviv fought back with a series of fast breaks and trailed by just two points at half time.
It looked as Maccabi would come out on top after a back-and-forth second half that gave them a four-point lead with under a minute to play. However, Real won four consecutive free throws from Sergio Rodríguez and Ioannis Bourousis to tie the game. Tyrese Rice missed a three pointer at the buzzer that would have given Maccabi the win. Instead the final went to overtime for the first time since 1969. Rice dominated in overtime, scoring 14, as Maccabi pulled away for a 98–86 win. In total, Rice scored 21 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter or overtime. Rodriguez led Real with 21 points.
The win gave Maccabi their sixth league title. For Real Madrid, it was the second consecutive year in which they lost in final game.
Reaction
Maccabi's surprise win led to wild celebrations as fans filled Tel Aviv's Rabin Square. Israeli President Shimon Peres called to congratulate the team saying "I watched the whole game and nearly had a heart attack. You are heroes and have brought incredible pride to the state of Israel." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also offered his personal congratulations.
Spanish fans expressed their frustration on Twitter. An estimated 18,000 such tweets contained anti-Semitic language prompting a lawsuit by local Jewish communities and an official apology by the league.