OFFICIAL PROGRAM

TABLE OF CONTENTSAntwerp the city 4

About the arena & how to get there 6

Previous editions of the Final Four 8

Group Standings and Play-Offs 10

Season Awards 12

BROSE BAMBERG

Team profile 14

Player profiles 18

IBEROSTAR TENERIFE

Team profile 22

Player profiles 26

SEGAFREDO VIRTUS BOLOGNA

Team profile 30

Player profiles 34

TELENET GIANTS ANTWERP

Team profile 38

Player profiles 42

Final Four Officials 46

Official practices 47

Media Activities 48

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WELCOME TO ANTWERP!

A MODERN CREATIVE POWERHOUSE, A CITY OF SPORTS

Antwerp is a city like no other.

Antwerp is a vibrant city, and this has been

noticed by the international press. Last year

the city was part of the “Top 10 Cities” list by

Lonely Planet as one of the best kept secrets

on the continent.

It was, back in the 16th-century, one of the

world’s greatest and richest cities and one

where merchants and diplomats, sailors and

artisans mixed and mingled.

Today’s multicultural city is as open and fluid as

ever, its mix of beautiful Baroque townhouses,

Art Nouveau districts and edgily regenerated

industrial areas providing a moody and

evocative backdrop to a flourishing creative

milieu and a flourishing contemporary art,

fashion, music scene, and sport!

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OFFICIAL PROGRAMANTWERP 2019FINAL FOUR

5www.sportingA.be

Antwerp,city of sports.

2019_advertentie_A4_ENG.indd 1 23/04/2019 14:53:49

ANTWERPS SPORTPALEIS

Sportpaleis in metropolis Antwerp is Belgium’s

biggest and most popular venue. It opened its doors

in 1933 as the largest indoor cycling track arena in

Europe in a building with the largest free roof span.

The roof of 11,600 m2 without any support was then

considered to be a building wonder. The track was

completely removed in the summer of 2013.

Sportpaleis is famous for its large-scale concerts

of local and international artists, shows and

sport events. After rebuilding works the venue

nowadays has a 23,001 maximum capacity

when used ‘in the round’, with a central stage

and standing audience on the central square.

Sportpaleis hosts almost 1,000,000 visitors

every year in about 70 events.

Located centrally in the heart of Europe, one

of Antwerp’s greatest assets is its accessibility

by car, train and airplane. With its eye-catching

roof in blue, Sportpaleis is a landmark along

the Antwerp ring road. Antwerp also has an

excellent public transport network of bus and

tram connections and an efficient metro network.

Practically all metro lines stop at the Central

Station. Lines 2, 3 and 6 have a ‘Sport’ stop in

front of the Sportpaleis entrance. The Sportpaleis

management worked out a deal with local public

transport De Lijn which enables every visitor to

use all public transport to and from the venue

only by showing their event ticket.

BELGIUM’S BIGGEST AND MOST POPULAR VENUE

ANTWERPS SPORTPALEIS SCHIJNPOORTWEG 119 2170 ANTWERP

www.sportpaleis.be


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PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF THE FINAL FOUR

TENERIFE, SPAINAPRIL 28-30, 2017Semi-FinalsBanvit 83-75 AS Monaco

Iberostar Tenerife 67-58 Umana Reyer Venezia

Third-Place GameAS Monaco 97-77 Umana Reyer Venezia

FinalIberostar Tenerife 63-59 Banvit

MVPMarius Grigonis | Iberostar Tenerife

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ATHENS, GREECEMAY 4-6, 2018Semi-FinalsMHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg 65-87 AS Monaco

AEK 77-75 UCAM Murcia

Third-Place GameMHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg 74-85 UCAM Murcia

FinalAS Monaco 94-100 AEK

MVPMike Green | AEK

9


10

GD1 K. Punter USA Bologna N. Cole USA Avellino

GD2 A. Daye USA Venezia T. Rice USA Bamberg

GD3 S. Jasaitis LTU Lietkabelis N. Cole USA Avellino

GD4 V. Hunter USA AEK J. Span SLO Olimpija

GD5 J. Feldeine USA H. Jerusalem C. Kloof NED Murcia

GD6 J. Gamble USA Nanterre K. Punter USA Bologna

GD7 L. Chrysikopoulos GRE PAOK K. Wyatt USA Holon

GD8 M. Griffin USA AEK T. Rice USA Bamberg

GD9 P. Lee USA Antwerp D. Washington USA Venezia

GD10 J. Rich USA Besiktas R. Brown USA Promitheas

GD11 M. Knight USA MHP Riesen V. Hunter USA AEK

GD12 V. Hunter USA AEK D. Holston USA Dijon

GD13 V. Hunter USA AEK T. Blatt ISR Jerusalem

GD14 A. M’Baye FRA Bologna J. Gamble USA Nanterre

R16 T. Rice USA Bamberg V. Hunter USA AEK

QF T. Abromaitis USA Tenerife T. Rice USA Bamberg

GD1 F. Cruz MEX Fuenlabrada R. Benzing GER Besiktas

GD2 G. Larentzakis GRE AEK B. Toure SEN Fribourg

GD3 J. Tate USA Antwerp T. Abromaitis USA Tenerife

GD4 T. Rice USA Bamberg R. Brown USA Promitheas

GD5 D. Nichols USA Avellino S. Jelovac SRB Bamberg

GD6 L. Jones USA MHP Riesen J. Owens USA Jerusalem

GD7 A. Rubit USA Bamberg H. Martin USA Bayreuth

GD8 K. Robertson CAN Bayreuth S. Saiz ESP Tenerife

GD9 B. Subotic MNE Bonn N. Brussino ITA Tenerife

GD10 W. Hatcher USA PAOK T. Blatt ISR Jerusalem

GD11 K. Punter USA Bologna Z. Dimec SLO Lietkabelis

GD12 R. Lomazs LAT Ventspils J. Morgan USA Banvit

GD13 I. Buva CRO Besiktas J. Stone USA Venezia

GD14 K. Weaver USA Neptunas A. Eito FRA Le Mans

R16 P. Lee USA Antwerp V. Dragicevic MNE Nizhny

QF P. Lee USA Antwerp J. Feldeine USA H. Jerusalem

SEASON AWARDSTEAM OF THE WEEK

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GD1 Norris Cole USA Avellino (ITA)

GD2 Austin Daye USA Venezia (ITA)

GD3 Norris Cole USA Avellino (ITA)

GD4 Vince Hunter USA AEK (GRE)

GD5 James Feldeine USA Hapoel Jerusalem (ISR)

GD6 Julian Gamble USA Nanterre 92 (FRA)

GD7 Linos Chrysikopoulos GRE PAOK (GRE)

GD8 Malcolm Griffin USA AEK (GRE)

GD9 Paris Lee USA Antwerp (BEL)

GD10 Jason Rich USA Besiktas (TUR)

GD11 Marco Knight USA MHP Riesen (GER)



GD14 Amath M’Baye FRA Bologna (ITA)

R16 Tyrese Rice USA Bamberg (GER)

QF Tim Abromaitis USA Tenerife (ESP)

MVP

GD1 A. Traore FRA Strasbourg

GD2 M. Costello USA Avellino

GD3 Y. Fall FRA Strasbourg

GD4 A. Stoudemire USA Hapoel Jerusalem

GD5 D. Stockton USA Bayreuth

GD6 V. Hunter USA AEK

GD7 P. Aradori ITA Bologna

GD8 J. Grant USA Neptunas

GD9 Y. Fall FRA Strasbourg

GD10 C. Iverson USA Tenerife

GD11 G. Neal USA Banvit

GD12 K. Sykes USA Avellino

GD13 M. Collins USA Strasbourg

GD14 V. Dragicevic MNE Nizhny

R16 T. Thomas USA Jerusalem

QF A. M’Baye FRA Bologna

TEAM OF THE WEEK

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BROSE BAMBERG TEAM PROFILEA CHANCE FOR FREAK CITY TO BECOME SUPER FREAKS

Nine German Championships, six German Cups

and five German Supercups. For Brose Bamberg,

winning is a habit. Germany’s most decorated

club of the 21st century has already won the Ger-

man Cup this season, defeating EuroCup final-

ists Alba Berlin on a buzzer-beating three-pointer

from the Lord of the Rings, Nikos Zisis. And that

was far from the only drama those crazy fans

have seen in Freak City this season. No sooner

had the champagne bottle smashed on the bow

of its first season in the Basketball Champions

League, and Bamberg had already started riding

tidal waves. Gameday 1 against Montakit Fuen-

labrada saw the Freaks lose on the buzzer to a

Pako Cruz hail mary.

That may not have been the ideal start to the

season, but Bamberg have since gone on to grow

from adversity and enjoy plenty of success in

late-game situations itself.

It did take a while for this team to find its feet.

Bamberg started the first half of the Basketball

Champions League season 4-3. A combination

of injury absences and a new squad - with young

players in important roles - meant that the Ger-

mans took some time to find their rhythm. At

times, Bamberg seemed reliant on the fourth

quarter heroics of Tyrese Rice to get the wins

column ticking over. After a confidence-boost-

ing win over AEK on Gameday 10, the Freaks re-

cord was looking much healthier at 7-3.

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But after the departure of Coach Ainars Bag-

atskis and an uninspiring loss to Lietkabelis in

Coach Federico Perego’s first game in charge, it

seemed the unexpected was still to be expected.

Federico Perego may be the youngest coach in

the Final Four but he knew exactly how to get

this Bamberg squad back on track.

The young Italian playcaller has led the team with

confidence and calm, resulting in veteran players

like Nikos Zisis and Tyrese Rice speaking openly of

the positive impression he has made on them.

After that loss to Lietkabelis, Bamberg picked up

two wins from the final three games of the Regular

Season. Domestic form also improved as they won

the German Cup and went on to win 12 straight

games in all competitions, their longest winning

streak in three years. The Freaks rolled into the

Play-Offs healthy and charged with belief.

The Play-Offs draw paired Bamberg with Banvit.

The Turkish club had already benefited from a

coaching change earlier in the season, with Hakan

Demir leading the club to a dramatic turnaround

domestically. Jordan Morgan, McKenzie Moore

and Alex Perez had been dangerous for Banvit

all season, but the addition of Gary Neal to lead

a squad with a host of young Turkish talent, had

transformed Banvit into a Final Four threat. In the

home leg, Elias Harris shot 89 percent on his way

to 19 points. The Germans also got big contribu-

tions from Rice, Hickman, and Rubit, as Perego’s

squad left Germany with a two-point lead.

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The road leg was just as close, but 32 points from

Tyrese Rice re-affirmed his case for the MVP title.

Standing between Bamberg and a ticket to the

big dance, was the small task of conjuring a way

to beat the Champions - AEK. Brose Bamberg v

AEK Athens had to be one of the biggest Quar-

ter-Finals in the history of the Basketball Cham-

pions League and the games lived up to the bill-

ing. After Cliff Alexander’s breakout 19 points

and 7 boards led Bamberg to a four-point lead

in Germany, Perego’s squad knew they would

likely face a cauldron of noise in the second leg.

Those AEK fans didn’t disappoint. Once again,

Bamberg rose to the challenge, and once again,

Tyrese Rice was clutch in the fourth quarter. It

wasn’t, however, all about the Riceman. Alexan-

der was huge in both legs and every time AEK

looked like they weren’t ready to give up the

throne, a different Bamberg player stepped up.

The clearest example of that was Bryce Taylor

nailing three daggers from three-point land in

the fourth quarter.

Looking at Bamberg’s season it’s clear to see

that Coach Perego has found a way to play that

maximises this roster. Bamberg lead all Basket-

ball Champions League Final Four teams for pace

at 72.9 possessions per 40 minutes, and play an

uptempo style.

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This is also the best free throw shooting team in

the competition. They make 82 percent of their

shots at the stripe and get to the line more fre-

quently than any other team.

This is thanks largely to players like Augustine

Rubit and Elias Harris who are lethal low post

scorers, that can also put the ball on the floor

to attack slower bigs to draw fouls. In the back-

court, you would struggle to find a more ex-

perienced quad than Nikos Zisis, Tyrese Rice,

Ricky Hickman and Bryce Taylor. Patrick Heck-

mann brings size and floor spacing to the wing

and can guard multiple positions, as does the

uber-talented youngster Louis Olinde. Perego is

a wizard coming out of timeouts and has been

able to make game-changing adjustments

throughout the Play-Offs.

This is a well-coached Bamberg squad, with a

deep roster and enough experience of collec-

tively coming through adversity to last three

seasons. Combine that with a club that is ac-

customed to preparing and facilitating squads

to be winners and you have the makings of a

Basketball Champions League juggernaut.

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2018-19 STATSMPG PPG FG% 3PFG% RPG APG SPG BPG

Basketball CL 29.7 16.6 41.8 35.1 2.6 4.7 1.0 0.0easyCredit BBL 28.5 15.2 42.0 31.2 2.5 6.6 0.8 0.0

Sometimes, numbers just don’t paint the real picture. Ac-cording to advanced stats, Tyrese Rice scores 0.89 points per possession, which ranks him “only” in the middle of the Basketball Champions League pack. But trust us on this one - if you need a big bucket down the stretch, just give the ball to the lefty point guard. Rice will celebrate his 32nd birthday right after the Final Four, and what better way to do it than to add another huge trophy to his cabinet? He already has both the EuroLeague and EuroCup titles to his name, which is why he earned the RESPECT tattoo he has on the back of his neck. Rice has often been overlooked throughout his career, even though he was capable of scoring 34 points in a single half against North Carolina in 2008. He was featured in mul-tiple stories about being a successful athlete and a single dad, with his 13-year-old son almost old enough to get on the court himself and test his dad’s abilities. Just don’t make him drive right, Ashawn (his son’s name), he’s second best in the entire Basketball Champions League when he goes to his weaker hand. Only Virtus’ Tony Taylor is better in points per possession in that department. Tyrese owns a Montene-grin passport, having played for the Balkans nation at FIBA EuroBasket 2013 and FIBA EuroBasket 2017.

The youngest coach in the Final four is here to spoil the party! Federico Perego has taken his first high-profile head coach-ing job, and wasted no time in winning the German Cup with Brose Bamberg. Perego started coaching even before he was 22, spending time in his hometown Lissone, before starting a successful youth coaching and assistant coaching career. He was predominantly working right next to Andrea Trinchieri in the early stages of his career. Perego was the William Riker to Trinchieri’s Jean-Luc Picard in Veroli, Cantu and Bamberg, so don’t be surprised to see some of Trinchieri-era offensive tricks in this season’s Bamberg possessions. Perego is a big fan of game film and analysis.He is known to always focus on keeping up-to-date before presenting his ideas to the team, never underestimating a single detail of the game, and never considering coaching a job, because to him, coaching is so much more than that.

TYRESE RICEFEDERICO PEREGOHeight: 1.89m (6’2’’)Position: Point GuardDate of birth: 15/05/1987Place of birth: Richmond, Virginia (USA)Career: Boston College (NCAA, 2005-09), Panionios (Greece, 2009-10), Art-land Dragons (Germany, 2010-11), Ry-tas Vilnius (Lithuania, 2011-12), Bayern Munich (Germany, 2012-13), Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel, 2013-14), Khimki (Russia, 2014-16), Barcelona (Spain, 2016-18), Shenzhen Leopards (China, 2018), Brose Bamberg (2018- )Twitter: @ReceRice4Instagram: @ReseRice.4

Date of birth: 29/09/1984Place of birth: Lissone, ItalyCoaching Career: Aurora Desio (youth teams, Italy, 2006-08), Prima Veroli (as-sistant, Italy, 2008-10), Pallacanestro Cantu (assistant, Italy, 2010-13), Fulgor Omegna (assistant, Italy, 2013-14), Brose Bamberg (assistant, Germany 2014-18), Brose Bamberg (head coach, Germany, 2018- )



If you are a fan of spacing on the court, then you should pay attention to Patrick Heckmann. The former U19 German League MVP is moving around without the ball just like a bish-op in chess - and the reference is no coincidence, with Heck-mann recently posting a photo of a chess board on social media. Heckmann dominated youth competitions domesti-cally, but then enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences in USA. He enjoyed impressive NCAA performances across all four years. The Mainz-born small forward is always locked and loaded, shooting 13-of-26 from beyond the arc in the Basketball Champions League. But even more impressive are his advanced stats. P-Heck is above 70 percent in both true shooting and effective field goal percentage, making him the most efficient shooter at the Final Four!

PATRICK HECKMANNHeight: 1.98m (6’6’’)Position: Small ForwardDate of birth: 27/02/1992Place of birth: Mainz, GermanyCareer: ASC Theresianum Mainz (Ger-many, 2009-10), TV Langen (Germany, 2010-11), Boston College (NCAA, 2011-2015), Brose Bamberg (Germany, 2015- )Twitter: @pheck33Instagram: @pheck33

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Instead of Amar’e Stoudemire, we get to see the man once touted as the next Amar’e. The two actually met on the floor in this season’s Basketball Champions League, with Stoud-emire and Hapoel Jerusalem winning both outings. For Al-exander, however, it still felt like a dream come true to face the former NBA great under the rims. With his dominant play inside, Alexander gave a new meaning to the phase “Cliff-Hanger,” dunking towards a season-high performance of 19 points and 7 rebounds in the first leg of Quarter-Finals against AEK. The big man won the FIBA 3x3 U18 Americas Championship gold medal in 2013, but went on to finish 9th at the FIBA 3x3 U18 World Championship later that year, de-spite a 7-1 record for his Team USA.

Crazy to think that boy wonder is about to turn 30 in a couple of months... Harris was a well-known prospect as a member of third division team Speyer, exploding for 20.9 points and 9.2 rebounds in 2008-09, booking not only a trip to the Gonzaga university, but also a ticket to the FIBA EuroBasket 2009 in Po-land. Harris is a huge weapon off the bench for coach Perego, being Mr Consistency, playing just over 18 minutes per game, and averaging 10.1 and 10.0 points in the Basketball Champions League and Bundesliga, respectively. Don’t expect him to be out of shape any time soon - along with his business partner Deniz Bozkurt, Elias is responsible for GRADEONE, food supple-ments based on zero chemicals and additives, helping sports-men preserve a healthier diet in these fast-modern times.

The brightest star of Estonian basketball is yet to make his Bas-ketball Champions League debut, but having just turned 19, time is on his side. Henri Drell joined Bamberg when he was 16, and he’s slowly but surely learning about pro-level basketball. Drell excelled at the FIBA U18 European Championship, Divi-sion B last summer, finishing in the All-Star Five at the event while averaging 19.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 steals. This season saw him make his easyCredit BBL debut, after making a name for himself in the 2. Basketball Bundesliga, getting 13.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals in 29 games with Baunach Young Pikes. A tall, small forward with good ballhandling, beautiful shot mechanics and the ability to finish at the rim - we can’t wait for a bigger role for Drell!

CLIFF ALEXANDER ELIAS HARRIS

HENRI DRELL

Height: 2.06m (6’9’’)Position: centerDate of birth: 16/11/1995Place of birth: Chicago, Illinois (USA)Career: Kansas (NCAA, 2014-15), Port-land Trail Blazers (NBA, 2015-16), Santa Cruz Warriors (NBA G League, 2016), Erie BayHawks (NBA G League 2016-17), Long Island Nets (NBA G League, 2017), Wisconsin Herd (NBA G League, 2017-18), ASVEL (France, 2018), Brose Bam-berg (Germany, 2018- )Twitter: @CAlexanderInstagram: @cliffalexander2

Height: 2.03m (6’8’’)Position: Power ForwardDate of birth: 06/07/1989Place of birth: Speyer, GermanyCareer: BIS Baskets Speyer (Germa-ny, 2005-09), BG Karlsruhe (Germany, 2006-07), Gonzaga (NCAA, 2009-13), Los Angeles Lakers (NBA, 2013), Brose Bamberg (Germany, 2013- )Twitter: @EliasJMHarrisInstagram: @EliasjmHarris

Height: 2.06m (6’9’’)Position: Small ForwardDate of birth: 25/04/2000Place of birth: Tallinn, EstoniaCareer: Audentes/Noortekoondis (Es-tonia, 2015-16), Brose Bamberg (Germa-ny, 2016- ), Baunach Young Pikes (Ger-many, 2016- )Twitter: @eldrelllInstagram: @lllerd



Bamberg’s own version of Sweet Lou is realizing he will buy his minutes on the court by doing his part on the defensive end. He has a great feel for blocking shots, getting a pair of blocks in just 8 minutes of action against AEK in the second leg of the Quarter-Finals. He knows what to do on the offen-sive end too, as he had a couple of triples against the de-fending champions, helping Bamberg advance to their maid-en Final Four. Olinde is not afraid of the big moment, and will undoubtedly look for dunks any time he’s around the rim. The Hamburg-born forward wears number 16 because his favorite number 8 was not available, so he went for 8+8 instead.

LOUIS OLINDEHeight: 2.05m (6’9’’)Position: Small ForwardDate of birth: 19/03/1998Place of birth: Hamburg, GermanyCareer: BC Hamburg (Germany, -2011), Piraten Hamburg (Germany, 2011-16), Rist Wedel (Germany, 2015-16), Hamburg Towers (Germany 2015-16), Brose Bam-berg (Germany, 2016- ), Baunach Young Pikes (Germany, 2016-17)Twitter: @louisolinde98Instagram: @louisolinde

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It’s a trip back to the Final Four for Arnoldas Kulboka, but this time as a participating player, rather than an award winner - he picked up the Best Young Player of the Season award in 2017-18, lifting the trophy in Athens a year ago, as a member of SikeliArchivi Capo d’Orlando. The loan is now over, Kulboka is trying to find his way into the standard rotation of Bamberg, and if he could translate his 23-of-49 shooting from beyond the arc from Bundesliga to all competitions, he should be a lock in the starting five of Freak City in the years to come. Kul-boka had a 16-point, 7-rebound outing against AEK in Group Stage, but has not seen action in the Second Leg against Banvit and the two Quarter-Final legs against AEK.

When William McDowell-White went down with an injury, Bam-berg were searching for a replacement in the backcourt. The search party barely left town limits, ending in Hallstadt, where Daniel Schmidt resides. The Bamberg-born guard accept-ed the call straight away, making his way back to the Freak City. He had already played over a hundred games, across ten seasons in different competitions for Bamberg. Schmidt is in charge of brains, rather than muscles, and he is happy to be the role player next to Tyrese Rice, Nikos Zisis and others on this roster. Schmidt loves card games. As a member of the Karten-Crew Quarter, with Patrick Heckmann, Maurice Stuck-ey and Louis Olinde - the four have found an old-school way of making the long road trips just a bit shorter.

The man mountain down low, Augustine Rubit is a menace underneath both rims. Averaging 14.1 points in the Basketball Champions League and 14.6 in the Bundesliga, Rubit is the go-to-guy in the low post, and his mid-range shooting is a trusted weapon. He has even shown us the one-legged Dirk fadeaway, making him virtually unguardable near the paint. Rubit also handles the ball pretty good for a big guy, probably due to the superstition of putting lotion on his hands before a game. As one of seven children, he keeps his family close, and his family got even bigger in 2018, when Augustine became a father. The little one’s support from the stands will most definitely not be the loudest in arena, but - make no mistake about it - it will give the power like no other to this forward.

The man who accepted a trophy from the hands of Michael Jor-dan himself, Maurice Stuckey came a long way since the play-ful days at Jordan Camp in 2006. The guard admitted he knew nothing about German basketball until he was 17, as he only fo-cused on Dirk Nowitzki and NBA, but over the past ten years, he became one of the better-known names of the Bundesliga. Stuckey played excellent basketball last season with s.Oliver Baskets in Wurzburg, putting up 11.7 points in under 25 minutes per contest, earning a ticket back to Bamberg. Communication is not a problem for Moe, with his father being from Atlanta, USA, Stuckey was raised in a bilingual family. Dad is also responsible for the love of basketball, Maurice was dreaming of a soccer ca-reer until his father taught him all about our beloved sport.

ARNOLDAS KULBOKA

DANIEL SCHMIDT

AUGUSTINE RUBIT

MAURICE STUCKEY

Height: 2.05m (6’9’’)Position: Small ForwardDate of birth: 04/01/1998Place of birth: Marijampole, LithuaniaCareer: Zalgiris (Lithuania, 2014-15), Brose Bamberg (2015- ), Baunach Young Pikes (Germany, 2015-17), Capo d’Orlando (Italy, 2017-18)Twitter: @kulboka98Instagram: @kulboka8

Height: 1.88m (6’2’’)Position: Point GuardDate of birth: 16/08/1990Place of birth: Bamberg, GermanyCareer: Brose Bamberg (Germany, -2016), TSV Breitengussbach (Germa-ny, 2006-13), Baunach Young Pikes (Germany, 2013-16), Science City Jena (Germany, 2016-17), Oettinger Rockets (Germany, 2017-18), Brose Bamberg (Germany, 2018- )

Height: 2.01m (6’7’’)Position: Power ForwardDate of birth: 14/08/1989Place of birth: Houston, Texas (USA)Career: South Alabama (NCAA, 2010-14), Walter Tigers Tubingen (Germany, 2014-15), ratiopharm Ulm (Germany, 2015-17), Brose Bamberg (Germany, 2017- )Twitter: @Rated_AugInstagram: @SilverBack_a

Height: 1.88m (6’2’’)Position: Shooting GuardDate of birth: 30/05/1990Place of birth: Augsburg, GermanyCareer: BG Leitershofen/Stadtbergen (Germany, -2007), Team Urspring (Germa-ny, 2007-09), Erdgas Ehingen/Urspring-schule (Germany, 2007-09), TSV Troster Breitengussbach (Germany, 2009-12), Brose Bamberg (Germany, 2009-13), s.Oli-ver Baskets (Germany, 2012-14), EWE Bas-kets Oldenburg (Germany, 2014-15), s.Ol-iver Baskets (Germany, 2015-18), Brose Bamberg (Germany, 2018- )Instagram: @Moe_Stuck

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A bestseller in the making, with a communications major to tell you everything about it. Ricky Hickman has seen it all. From a solid high school and NCAA career, all the way to learning about European basketball in Romania, Finland and the Italian Second Division. But it’s a story with a climax, as Hickman won the EuroLeague alongside Tyrese Rice in Maccabi in 2014, and is still going strong months before his 34th birthday. He has got the wisdom now, sharing advice with younger players, say-ing they should look up to Malcolm Brogdon, Joe Harris, Evan Fournier, Derrick White or Corey Joseph. Don’t be concerned about his shooting in the Basketball Champions League. His Bundesliga campaign paints a clearer picture of somebody who can provide double digit scoring, while shooting 40+ per-cent from 3PT, and dishing 3+ assists per 20 minutes.

Basketball was always a topic in the Taylor household. Father Brian Taylor played at Princeton before embarking on a 10-year-long professional career with numerous clubs, including the Denver Nuggets and the LA Clippers, and younger brother Brendyn played for USC Trojans. If we add the Best Dressed Award to our season, Bryce would be the winner - just check his Instagram account. You can also find a lot of Nick Young connections over there, the two of them are close friends from California, and Bryce insists he is a better five-on-five player, while the former LA Lakers guard Young would win the one-on-one duel. Taylor was huge for Bamberg in Athens, knocking down three straight three-pointers, to silence the AEK faithful in the Quarter-Finals, and pave the way towards the Final Four.

The Lord of the Rings is searching for yet another trophy in his illustrious career. Nikos Zisis earned the nickname because of his record-breaking number of medals with the national team, in youth and senior competitions, and his club career isn’t that much different, either. In fact, it was Zisis’ clutch three-pointer that won the German Cup Final for Bamberg earlier this year, a perfect proof that Zisis is not slowing down, even though he is older than coach Perego. Zisis reads the game like no other guard in all of Europe, which is why Perego can afford to have him on the court at the same time when Tyrese Rice is out there, giving them a one-two backcourt punch ready to keep the Greek guard collecting medals 20 years after he had collected his first piece of silverware, at the FIBA U16 European Championship in 1999.

RICKY HICKMAN

BRYCE TAYLOR

NIKOS ZISISHeight: 1.89m (6’2’’)Position: Shooting GuardDate of birth: 01/09/1985Place of birth: Winston-Salem, North Carolina (USA)Career: UNC Greensboro (NCAA, 2003-07), CS Otopeni (Romania, 2007-08), Giessen 46ers (Germany, 2008-09), Na-mika Lahti (Finland, 2009-10), Junior Ca-sale (Italy, 2010-11), Scavolini Pesaro (Italy, 2011-12), Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel, 2012-14), Fenerbahce Ulker (Turkey, 2014-16), Em-porio Armani Milano (Italy, 2016-17), Brose Bamberg (Germany, 2017- )

Twitter: @rhsmooth03Instagram: @Hick1985

Height: 1.95m (6’5’’)Position: Shooting GuardDate of birth: 27/09/1986Place of birth: Encino, California (USA)Career: Oregon (NCAA, 2005-08), Su-tor Montegranaro (Italy, 2008-09), Tele-kom Baskets Bonn (Germany, 2009-10), Alba Berlin (Germany, 2010-12), Artland Dragons (Germany, 2012-13), Bayern Munich (Germany, 2013-17), Brose Bam-berg (Germany, 2017- )Twitter: @ThryceBaylorInstagram: @ThryceBaylor

Height: 1.95m (6’5’’)Position: Point GuardDate of birth: 16/08/1983Place of birth: Thessaloniki, GreeceCareer: AEK (Greece, 2000-05), Ben-etton Treviso (Italy, 2005-07), CSKA Moscow (Russia, 2007-09), Montepas-chi Siena (Italy, 2009-12), Bilbao Basket (Spain, 2012-13), UNICS Kazan (Russia, 2013-15), Fenerbahce Ulker (Turkey, 2015), Brose Bamberg (Germany, 2015- )Twitter: @nik683Instagram: @Nikos.Zisis6

21

IBEROSTAR TENERIFE TEAM PROFILE

Flashback to early May 2017, and the Santia-

go Martin was gearing up to host its first major

basketball event. After reforming as CB 1939

Canarias in 1994, the club now known as Ibero-

star Tenerife had won promotions to the ACB,

but the closest they had come to a major piece

of silverware was a Quarter-Final of the Copa

del Rey. In the Basketball Champions League,

the Aurinegros hit the bullseye with their first

dart. As hosts, they reached and won their

first major final against Banvit - in the process

becoming the Basketball Champions League

first-ever winners.

Fast Forward to 2019, and many of the core

squad members from 2017 are back in the Final

Four and looking to regain their crown. Javier

Beiran, Rodrigo San Miguel, Ferran Bassas, Nico-

las Richotti, Mamadou Niang, Davin White and

Tim Abromaitis were all a part of the Champi-

onship squad for Tenerife. They are all back and

playing with the kind of chemistry befitting a

group that has played together for years. For

Javier Beiran, this run to the Final Four might

feel even sweeter. Beiran was injured in the sea-

son leading up to the 2017 Final Four and had to

watch his team from the stands.

THE CANARIAS WANT THEIR TROPHY BACK

22


Final Four MVP Marius Grigonis moved to Alba

Berlin, Aaron Doornekamp moved to Valencia,

Georgios Bogris returned home to Greece and

Olympiacos, but Head Coach Txus Vidorreta has

come back to stalk the sidelines for the Canarias.

Vidorreta has wasted no time in getting the team

playing a very familiar brand of basketball. As

usual, the club has also done an outstanding job

of recruiting players that fit the style they want

to play. Argentine wingman Nicolas Brussino

has NBA experience and brings length, shoot-

ing and perimeter defense to an already stacked

arsenal of shooters. Sebastian Saiz is a versatile

front-line player that rebounds, blocks shots and

catches lobs. He has also shown the ability to

stretch the floor out to the three-point line and

guard perimeter players. It was no surprise to

see him play a pivotal role in Spain’s World Cup

qualification. Colton Iverson is a bruising big man

in in the mold of Bogris, Fran Vazquez, and Mike

Tobey before him.

On court we have grown very accustomed to the

brand of basketball that this Tenerife team deliv-

ers. On offense, the ball moves, the players move,

the floor stretches and the defense scrambles.

Defensively, they pressure the ball up the floor,

switch matchups and rotate in a frenzied blur. It’s

a heady cocktail that often leaves opponents diz-

zy and seeking acupuncture. Statistically Tenerife

have been dominant from the starting gun. They

lead all the Final Four teams in rebounds, assists,

three-point shooting and shooting efficiency

(eFG%). Vidorreta’s squad has been top five for

offensive and defensive points per possession all

season and now head into the Final Four ranked

first in both categories.

23

Tenerife finished the Regular Season with a 12-2

record, which is one better than its 11-3 record

in 2017. The only losses came at the hands of a

Linos Chrysikopoulos inspired PAOK, and a fired

up Umana Reyer Venezia. If the Regular Season

was the calm, tranquil waters of a leeward facing

beach in the Canaries, the Play-Offs have been

more like a rubber dinghy in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Aurinegros were forced the break a Basket-

ball Champions League record by becoming the

first team to come back from a 12-point deficit,

against Promitheas Patras, and then had to ne-

gotiate the rapids of a Hapoel Bank Yahav Jeru-

salem team boasting the talents of NBA All-Star

Amar’e Stoudemire and James Feldeine. But,

negotiate it they did, and confidence will have

only increased as a result. Make no mistake, the

likes of Quarter-Finals MVP Tim Abromaitis and

his Tenerife squad will come into the Final Four

as many people’s favorites to lift the trophy.

24



Basketball CL 23.7 11.3 48.8 46.8 5.3 1.6 0.7 0.2Liga Endesa 26.9 12.4 46.9 41.9 4.0 1.1 1.1 0.2

Picking one star player for this team is one of the hardest jobs for any member of the assembled media ahead of the Final Four. It seems fair to give Tim Abromaitis, Mr Consist-ency, the nod. Abro’s numbers speak for themselves, and nobody would be surprised if we see him end his career with Tenerife one day. Abromaitis loves this club and the feeling is mutual. Tim was arguably the biggest reason why Tenerife reached the Final in 2017, with 19 points and 9 rebounds in the Semi-Finals against Umana Reyer Venezia (both game-highs). This time around, the power forward led the way to the Final Four again, with 18.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in the two Quarter-Final games v Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem. Abromaitis enjoys a game of chess, stays active with ten-nis and golf, but basketball has always been his first choice. Not surprising, giving his Lithuanian roots... Father Jim also played in Europe, spending time in Real Madrid’s number ten jersey in the early 1980s, and earning minutes in Italy, too, with Pallacanestro Trieste. Off the court, Tim Abromaitis should not be concerned with life after his playing career - he earned his finance degree at the Mendoza College of Business in 2010, one full year ahead of schedule!

Txus Vidorreta knows what it feels like to be at the top. Iberos-tar Tenerife’s head coach is back in the Basketball Champions League, the competition which he won in 2017, when Tenerife hosted the Final Four. Vidorreta’s offensive schemes are on another level. It’s next to impossible to figure out which action is the one you need to stop and which one is just a decoy. Txus is the reason why Iberostar Tenerife ranked first in points per 100 possession, amassing 118.4 of them in the Basketball Champions League. With pesky guards and strong centers in the paint, Vidorreta’s team is also the third best in defensive rating at 98.5 points allowed per 100 possessions. His high level of basketball understanding is recognized by Sergio Scariolo, too, as Jesus Txus Gomez Vidorreta has served as an Assistant Coach with the Spanish national team.

TIM ABROMAITISTXUS VIDORRETAstar player: Height: 2.03m (6’8’’)Position: Power ForwardDate of birth: 17/09/1989Place of birth: Waterbury, ConnecticutCareer: Notre Dame (NCAA, 2007-12), ASVEL (France, 2012-13), SIG Strasbourg (France, 2013-14), Lowen Braunschweig (Greece, 2014-15), Iberostar Tenerife (Spain, 2015- )Twitter: @timabro21Instagram: @timabro

Date of birth: 20/06/1966Place of birth: Bilbao, SpainCareer: Cajabilbao (Spain, 1992-94), Askartza (Spain, 1995-96), Bilbao Patro-nato (Spain, 1996-97), Askartza (Spain, 1997-98), La Palma (Spain, 1998-01), Bil-bao Basket (Spain, 2001-10), Lucentum Alicante (Spain, 2010-12), Estudiantes (Spain, 2012-15), Iberostar Tenerife (Spain, 2015-17), Valencia (Spain, 2017-18), Iberostar Tenerife (Spain, 2018- ), Spain (assistant coach, 2015- )



Having a pass-first point guard on board is always helpful, es-pecially when his name is Ferran Bassas. The guard timed his form to perfection for Tenerife, shooting 3-of-4 from behind the arc to get a season-high 14 points in the home leg against Hapoel Jerusalem in the Quarter-Finals - steering the Tener-ife ship towards the Final Four in the process. Bassas had a 0-point, 10-assist outing against Fribourg earlier in the sea-son, and once you translate his numbers to per 40 minutes, it turns out that he takes as many shots (8.8) as the amount of assists (8.5) he dishes per game. Unselfish from the first day of his career, Bassas grew up with Joventut and Oviedo before arriving in Tenerife in 2016. Another piece of the puzzle who is in there for the long run with the CB Canarias.

FERRAN BASSASHeight: 1.81m (5’11’’)Position: Point GuardDate of birth: 29/04/1992Place of birth: Barcelona, SpainCareer: Joventut Badalona (Spain, 2007-10), CB Prat Joventut (Spain, 2010-13), Union Financiera Oviedo (Spain, 2013-16), Iberostar Tenerife (Spain, 2016- )Twitter: @FerranBassasInstagram: @ferranbassas5

26





Basketball CL 18.9 11.1 61.7 0.0 6.2 1.2 0.4 0.2Liga Endesa 23.9 12.1 64.0 100 7.1 0.8 0.8 0.8

Nicolas Brussino did not have to travel long for his latest club change, getting to Iberostar Tenerife from the Canarian’s rivals, Gran Canaria. With impressive length, even more impressive wingspan and leaping ability, Brussino has a three-point shot as a trusted weapon in his arsenal. He knocked down 6-of-11 shots from deep in the two Quarter-Final legs against Hapoel Jerusalem. All of those qualities made him a regular member of the Argentine national team. He even finished in the All-Star Five at the FIBA AmeriCup in 2017, just as he was coming from a 54-game season with Dallas Mavericks and switching to At-lanta Hawks for the 2017-18 campaign. But, unable to get reg-ular minutes, Nico turned to Europe and found happiness in Spain. Brussino also has an Italian passport.

Another product of a basketball family, Colton Iverson could’ve easily been the star player in this guide. Iverson’s father Chuck was a University of South Dakota standout, making his way to the USD’s Hall of Fame and even getting drafted by the Se-attle SuperSonics, as the fifth pick in the fourth round of the NBA Draft in 1973. Sisters Cassie and Kara also played college basketball, and Colton was on his way to the NBA after being picked by Indiana Pacers in 2013. However, a different path took him to Spain, Turkey and Israel, eventually becoming a sol-id pickup by Tenerife last summer. Iverson was voted into the top five centers of the Basketball Champions League, with his full power on display with a 20-point, 12-rebound double-dou-ble in the first leg of the Quarter-Finals against Jerusalem.

NICOLAS BRUSSINO COLTON IVERSONHeight: 2.00m (6’7’’)Position: Small ForwardDate of birth: 02/03/1993Place of birth: Santa Fe, ArgentinaCareer: San Martin de Marcos Juarez (Argentina, 2010-12), Regatas Corrientes (Argentina, 2012-15), Penarol (Argen-tina, 2015-16), Dallas Mavericks (NBA, 2016-17), Texas Legends (NBA G League, 2016-17), Atlanta Hawks (NBA, 2017), Erie BayHawks (NBA G League, 2017), Gran Canaria (Spain, 2018), Iberostar Tenerife (Spain, 2018- )Twitter: @nicoobrussinoInstagram: @NicooBrussino9

Height: 2.13m (7’0’’)Position: CenterDate of birth: 29/06/1989Place of birth: Aberdeen, South Dako-ta (USA)Career: Minnesota (NCAA, 2008-11), Colorado State (NCAA, 2011-13), Be-siktas Sompo Japan (Turkey, 2013-14), Baskonia (Spain, 2014-15), Pinar Kar-siyaka (Turkey, 2015-16), Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel, 2016-17), MoraBanc Andor-ra (Spain, 2017-18), Iberostar Tenerife (Spain, 2018- )Twitter: @colton_iversonInstagram: @Colton_Iverson



Just how deep is this Tenerife team? Deep enough to have Mamadou Niang as another man off the bench. Niang is will-ing to do the dirty jobs on defense, challenge shots at the rim and dunk down anything that comes his way on the other end of the floor. Colton Iverson and Sebas Saiz, along with Tim Abromaitis already are a scary frontcourt, but Niang has worked his way into steady rotation this season, getting just over ten minutes per game in the Basketball Champions League, more than enough for him to get over five points and three rebounds. In case you want to wish him a happy new year, make sure you double your wishes, because January the 1st is also his birthday.

MAMADOU NIANGHeight: 2.09m (6’10’’)Position: CenterDate of birth: 01/01/1994Place of birth: Thies, SenegalCareer: Gran Canaria (Spain, 2009-14), Real Club Nautico de Tenerife (Spain, 2014-15), Iberostar Tenerife (2015- )Twitter: @petitniang94Instagram: @petitniang7



Kristian Kullamae and Henri Drell are at Bamberg, and Janari Joesaar joins them from Tenerife, making it a one-two-three combo for Estonia at the Basketball Champions League Fi-nal Four! Joesaar is yet to make an impact in his Basketball Champions League career, but he has been getting minutes in the Liga Endesa, showing his athletic potential from the wing, crashing the offensive boards and searching for high-light dunks like the ones he had in Estonia since turning pro in 2015. Joesaar is an asset on the defensive end, having averaged 1.8 steals per game with Kalev-Cramo before join-ing Tenerife this season.

JANARI JOESAARHeight: 1.98m (6’6’’)Position: Small ForwardDate of birth: 08/12/1993Place of birth: Tartu, EstoniaCareer: Zaragoza (Spain, 2010-11), Ole Miss (NCAA, 2013-14), Texas Rio Grande Valley (NCAA, 2014-15), Rakvere Tarvas (Estonia, 2015-16), Tartu Rock (Estonia, 2016-17), Kalev-Cramo (Estonia, 2017-19), Iberostar Tenerife (Spain, 2019- )Instagram: @joesaar21

27









We needed to double and triple-check this, but Lucca Staiger is yet to reach double figures in a Basketball Champions League game! Hard to believe, especially with the shooting guard’s +9 and +6 contributions against Hapoel Jerusalem in the Quarter-Finals, and a 3-of-6 shooting night from beyond the arc against Opava. Staiger was one of the biggest talents in German basketball, with the NCAA also learning a thing or two about his shooting capabilities - he broke Iowa State’s record by sinking 10 three-pointers in a game against Drake in 2009-10. Staiger played for the big three of German basket-ball and wore the national team jersey regularly, but his trip to Tenerife is actually his first pro assignment outside of German borders. Staiger is huge fan of the Croatian coast, we know where to find him relaxing during the summer.

The Baby-Faced Assassin of the Basketball Champions League is back! Nico Richotti has been through a lot in his career, and numerous injuries held him back over the years. The Argentine has never been able to show his full potential as one of the most spectacular players the ACB has ever seen. Don’t believe us? Just search for his highlights from anywhere around 2012 to 2016. Richotti is now 32, always in a good mood, playing Fortnite, getting a Fortnite cake or enjoying his camera and producing unreal photos from all over the world. He even cov-ered the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers games in Tenerife as an on-court photographer! Make sure you visit flickr.com/photos/nicorchtt, you won’t regret it.

A wonderful pickup for Tenerife in early October, as they lured in one of the best Belgian players of his generation. Pierre-An-toine Gillet is still razor sharp from beyond the arc, shooting above 40 percent in both the Basketball Champions League and the Liga Endesa, with his best game coming against Opa-va, when he needed 20 minutes of action to score 20 points, with 14 rebounds also to his name. Gillet was the most prom-ising Belgian player in 2013-14, and the promise was realized a season later, when he was voted Belgian Player of the Year. This is his third Basketball Champions League season, and he is spending it with his third team, after playing for Oostende and Elan Chalon.

The heart and soul of Iberostar Tenerife since 2014! Javier Beiran will get his chance for redemption, having missed the 2017 Final Four because of a serious injury, even though he still witnessed Tenerife’s path to glory from the first row. Now, Beiran is back and healthy, ready to show the rest of Europe some of his fine domestic form. He is averaging 11.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists in the Liga Endesa. Beiran is a fan favorite, just as his father Jose Manuel was with Real Ma-drid and the Spanish national team in the 1980s. Beiran senior won the FIBA European Cup, and silver at the 1984 Summer Olympics. The two of them are one of only four father-son tandems in history of the Spanish national team. The other three being Josep Maria, Rafael and Tomas Jofresa, Pepe and Pablo Laso, and Josep Maria and Jordi Soler.

LUCCA STAIGER

NICOLAS RICHOTTIPIERRE-ANTOINE GILLET

JAVIER BEIRANHeight: 1.95m (6’5’’)Position: Shooting GuardDate of birth: 14/06/1988Place of birth: Blaustein, GermanyCareer: Iowa State (NCAA, 2007-10), Alba Berlin (Germany, 2010-12), MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg (Germany, 2012-13), Bayern Munich (Germany, 2013-15), Brose Bamberg (Germany, 2015-18), Iberostar Tenerife (Spain, 2018- )Twitter: @LuccaStaigerInstagram: @luccastaiger

Height: 1.84m (6’0’’)Position: Point GuardDate of birth: 17/10/1986Place of birth: Bahia Blanca, ArgentinaCareer: Hindu Resistecia (Argentina, 2004-05), CUS Bari (Italy, 2005-06), Campobasso (Italy, 2006-07), Rovigo (It-aly, 2007-08), Ferreteria San Isidro (Spain, 2008-09), Real Madrid B (Spain, 2009-10), Iberostar Tenerife (Spain, 2010- )Twitter: @nico_rchttInstagram: @nicorichotti

Height: 2.01m (6’7’’)Position: Power ForwardDate of birth: 16/04/1991Place of birth: Huy, BelgiumCareer: Liege Basket (Belgium, 2009-13), Filou Oostende (Belgium, 2013-17), Elan Chalon (France, 2017-18), Iberostar Tenerife (Spain, 2018- )Twitter: @PA_gilletInstagram: @pa_gillet

Height: 2.00m (6’7’’)Position: Small ForwardDate of birth: 22/05/1987Place of birth: Madrid, SpainCareer: Real Madrid (Spain, 2001-05), Estudiantes (Spain, 2005-10), Gran Ca-naria (Spain, 2010-14), Iberostar Tenerife (Spain, 2014- )Twitter: @jbeiran33Instagram: @jbeiran33

28




From Phoenix to Phoenix, Davin White replaced the one in Ar-izona with the one in Germany. Playing for Hagen, White was the leading scorer of the Bundesliga in 2012-13, which final-ly spread the word about his lightening quick release around Europe. Prior to winning that scoring title, White had been playing in Mexico and the NBA G League for most of his ca-reer, with a solid outing at the world famous “Basketball Tour-nament”, leading the team to the one-million-dollar game in 2015. However, DJ Kennedy, Erick McCollum and others from Overseas Elite were too strong and White had to settle for the second spot. White is now 37, making him the oldest player at the Final Four in Antwerp.

DAVIN WHITEHeight: 1.85m (6’1’’)Position: Shooting GuardDate of birth: 31/12/1981Place of birth: Phoenix, Arizona (USA)Career: Chandler-Gilbert CC (NCAA, 2001-03), Cal State Northridge (NCAA, 2003-05), Niagara Dare Devils (Canada, 2005-06), Mineros de Cananea (Mexico, 2006), Correcaminos Tampico Reynosa (Mexico, 2006), Anaheim Arsenal (NBA G League, 2006-07), Colorado 14ers (NBA G League, 2007-08), Mineros de Cananea (Mexico, 2008), Swisslion Ta-kovo Vrsac (Serbia, 2008-09), Halcones

UV Cordoba (Mexico, 2009), Mineros de Cananea (Mexico, 2010), Dorados de Playa del Carmen (Mexico, 2010), Mineros de Cananea (Mexico, 2011), Halcones de Xalapa (Mexico, 2011-12), Phoenix Hagen (Germany, 2012), Mineros de Cananea (Mexico, 2012), Phoenix Hagen (Germany, 2012-13), Lukoil Academic Sofia (Bulgaria, 2013), Maccabi Rishon Le-Zion (Israel, 2013-14), Manresa (Spain, 2014-15), Iberostar Tenerife (Spain, 2015- )Instagram: @d_white_34

SEBASTIAN SAIZHeight: 2.02m (6’8’’)Position: CenterDate of birth: 15/07/1994Place of birth: Madrid, SpainCareer: Ole Miss (NCAA, 2013-17), San Pablo Burgos (Spain, 2017-18), Iberostar Tenerife (Spain, 2018- )Twitter: @sebassaizInstagram: @sebassaiz



Juan Sebastian Sebas Saiz Soto is Real Madrid’s player on loan at Tenerife, and his first season in the Basketball Cham-pions League is the definition of highly efficient basketball. Playing limited minutes, Saiz is close to averaging double dig-its in points, and his per 40 minutes numbers are out of this world; 24.6 points, 12.8 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 steals, giving you an idea of how much energy Sebas brings to the floor. The Ole Miss graduate also made his debut with the Spanish national team, making it clear that he will not use his Dominican citizenship, which he holds thanks to his mother’s roots. Saiz is a double-double waiting to happen, collecting three of those during the Regular Season, needing less than 24 minutes to pull it off each time. Don’t be fooled by his 66.7 percentage from beyond the arc, it’s a small sample of four made three-pointers all season long.



It is hard to find someone who remembers what this Iberostar Tenerife squad looked like when the double zero did not have the words San Miguel above it. Rodrigo became the talisman for the club, and his contribution could never be captured by stats, even though he’s yet another Tenerife guard willing to pass the ball (trailing only Ferran Bassas in Assist Percentage while he’s on the floor). San Miguel is a defensive specialist whose qualities have been recognized by Sergio Scariolo, calling him to help the Spanish squad out in the FIBA Bas-ketball World Cup 2019 Qualifiers. He has struggled with his three-point shot in the Basketball Champions League this season, but as a 40 percent shooter in Liga Endesa, you prob-ably don’t want to leave him opened beyond the arc.

RODRIGO SAN MIGUELHeight: 1.82m (6’0’’)Position: Point GuardDate of birth: 21/01/1985Place of birth: Zaragoza, SpainCareer: Zaragoza (Spain, 2003-04), CB Valladolid (Spain, 2005-08), Man-resa (Spain, 2008-11), Valencia (Spain, 2011-13), UCAM Murcia (Spain, 2013-14), Iberostar Tenerife (Spain, 2014- )Twitter: @Rodsanmi00Instagram: @rodsanmi

29

SEGAFREDO VIRTUS BOLOGNA TEAM PROFILE

The old empire is striking back. By the time the

confetti fall on our next champions, ten years

will have passed since the Black V took the FIBA

EuroChallenge title in 2009, and eighteen years

since Manu Ginobili and Ettore Messina guided

them to the Triple Crown (Serie A, Italian Cup, and

EuroLeague) in 2001. This storied club has had its

ups and downs over the years, but fifteen Italian

League titles, eight Italian Cups, and three Euro-

pean titles, suggest there may have already been

more ups than many other clubs could dream of.

The time for talking about the past, however,

is gone. For Sasa Djordjevic, Kevin Punter and

the gang, it’s all about the future now. This is a

group that has constructed to win. Right from

the first game in the PalaDozza against Neptunas

Klaipeda, the balance to this roster made sense.

Kevin Punter is the Basketball Champions League

all-time leader in points generated and is without

doubt one of the most gifted scorers this com-

petition has seen. Surrounding him is Tony “The

Computer” Taylor at point guard managing the

distribution, Pietro Aradori is the second gun on

the ground, Dejan Kravic and Brian Qvale bring

the muscle, with Filippo Baldi Rossi the sniper in

the tower. Amath M’Baye is the head of security

that also doubles up as the sports psychologist -

his unshakeable confidence on the offensive end

keeps everyone focused. On the defensive end,

Kelvin Martin is the rottweiler with a heart of gold

and David Cournooh brings it defensively and also

shoots it with unerring accuracy. Alessandro Pa-

jola is one of the best young defensive guards in

Europe and the likes of Matteo Berti and Alessan-

BASKET CITY BACK ON THE EUROPEAN MAP

30


dro Cappelletti are ready whenever they get the

call. As if that group hadn’t looked strong enough

after winning the first seven games in the Bas-

ketball Champions League, when the opportunity

came to add extra firepower, the Black V added

more bounce to the frontcourt in Yanick Morei-

ra and two-time NBA Champion Mario Chalmers

before the Play-Offs.

There were bumps in the road. After that 7-0

start Virtus lost four of the next six games in the

competition and started to look a bit too human.

A confidence boosting OT win over Promitheas

Patras appeared to steady the ship before the

Play-Offs, but for a club like Segafredo Virtus Bo-

logna, “steady” is never going to be enough. After

the first leg of the Round of 16, the Black V finally

got their man. It had been rumoured that Virtus

had been chasing Sasa Djordjevic for some time.

And after finishing level with the French Champs

Le Mans in leg one, the former Fortitudo player

signed on the dotted line to stalk the sidelines in

a black and white suit.

The result was an instant and dramatic confi-

dence boost. Virtus obliterated Le Mans in the

PalaDozza and those fans had a new hero. The

Quarter-Finals meant more French opposition.

This time in the form of the Green Lights of

Nanterre 92. Jeremy Senglin & Co looked a dan-

gerous foe after knocking out Besiktas Sompo

Japan and they proved even more dangerous in

Paris as Virtus’ offense stagnated in the first leg.

Djordjevic and his squad travelled back home with

an 8-point deficit to ponder. The Bologna fans

needn’t have worried. Those eight points may

sound a lot to most teams but when you have

that kind of home atmosphere behind you and

that kind of talent on your roster, it’s a drop in

the ocean. For a second time in the Play-Offs and

French team came to Bologna and crashed like a

wave against a black cliff.

31

Segafredo Virtus Bologna come into the Final

Four with one of the more intriguing statistical

profiles. On the defensive end, they lead all Final

Four teams in shot blocking as they decline over

7 percent of their opponents’ shots. They also

lead the Final Four and the Basketball Champi-

ons League in steals. When you combine that with

the lowest turnover percentage in the League,

you get the picture of a greedy team that takes

the ball off you and doesn’t like to give it back.

On the playground this wouldn’t be much fun to

play with, but when it comes to winning, being

greedy as a team is only a good thing. This team

also lead all teams in the Play-Offs for points in

the paint with 35.3 per game. Virtus - like AEK

last season - is bottom ranked for the percent-

age of its buckets that come from an assist (49.9

in assist percentage). Sharing the ball certainly

looks good and creates efficient shots, but when

it comes to do-or-die games, the ability to create

your own shots and get to the bucket is vital.

The statistical profile of this Virtus Bologna team

undoubtedly paints a picture of a team that can

get shots at the rim when they need it. If you look

at the player shot map, you can see Dejan Kravic

leading the way, shooting over 70 percent at the

rim. Also take note of Amath M’Baye shooting at

a stupendously high clip from the right block and

left elbow. With the game on the line, the ball will

likely be in Kevin Punter’s hands but don’t be sur-

prised to see Sasa Djordjevic call the Frenchman’s

name when they need to keep the scorer’s table

busy down the stretch

32



Basketball CL 26.7 15.1 44.5 38.2 2.9 1.7 1.1 0.3LBA Serie A PM 26.4 14.8 44.2 37.2 2.9 1.3 1.2 0.2



The leading scorer in the history of Basketball Champions League will protect his overall lead at the Final Four, where he will be gunning for second straight trophy. Last season, Kevin Punter was the spark off the bench for AEK, and his heroics ignited the stands each week, including the first weekend in May 2018, when he could’ve easily been the Fi-nal Four MVP. KP said he wanted his game to be like KD - the one Kevin Durant - and despite lacking height to make the comparison truly legit, the variety of Punter’s pull-up jumpers looks familiar. Punter is one of the hardest work-ing players in the game, and his college coach Rick Barnes says Kevin used to take 2,000 shots per day to fix his shot. Hard work is paying off for the man from the Bronx. Punter will be heading back to Antwerp, where he spent a part of the 2016-17 season, averaging 11.5 points in 16 appearanc-es. Punter is leading Virtus in Usage Percentage. With 25.5% in the Basketball Champions League, and 25.3% in Serie A, rest assured that Punter will have the ball in his hands at the end of an offensive play set. More often than not, he will deliver. The American has achieved double digits 14 times in the Basketball Champions League this season, and 15 times in Italian championship, including a season-high 36-point explosion against Cantu, done in 25 minutes of action.

Sometimes, what seems to be just a 40km drive takes sev-en years to cross. That’s exactly what happened with Filippo Baldi Rossi. Baldi-Rossi is a Vignola native who found his way back to Bologna after he had started his career with the club in 2008, but only played five games in two seasons with Virtus. Loans to Perugia and Torino, and a move to Trento allowed Baldi Rossi to find his niche, despite a horrific knee injury during his days at Trento. Baldi Rossi can provide de-cent shooting at the four position, especially as a surprise weapon off the bench, with Djordjevic not hesitant to draw plays out of timeouts for the 27-year-old. Why wouldn’t he? After all, Baldi Rossi was a three-point contest winner in Italy in 2017, he knows what he is doing!

Sale Nacionale is set for yet another trophy! Aleksandar Djord-jevic, known by his aforementioned nickname because of all the medals he won with the national team - both as a player and as a coach - took over Virtus’ bench during the Basketball Champions League Play-Offs, and wasted no time in advanc-ing to the Final Four. Djordjevic was known as a game-winner during his playing days, with the unforgettable three-point-er he drained against Joventut in the European Cup Final in 1992, taking Partizan to the top. And he just keeps on winning as a coach, too. A trophy in Antwerp would for sure be a mo-rale booster for the Serbian national team coach ahead of the FIBA Basketball World Cup in China later this year. He is no stranger to Italian basketball, and his family lives in Milano. He is no stranger to Bologna, either, having spent two seasons with Virtus’ arch-rivals Fortitudo in the 1990s.

KEVIN PUNTER

FILIPPO BALDI ROSSI

ALEKSANDAR DJORDJEVIC Height: 1.90m (6’3’’)

Position: Shooting GuardDate of birth: 25/01/1993Place of birth: Bronx, New York (USA)Career: State Fair CC (NCAA, 2012-14), Tennessee (NCAA, 2014-16), Lavrio (Greece, 2016-17), Antwerp Giants (Belgium, 2017), Rosa Radom (Poland, 2017-18), AEK (Greece, 2018), Virtus Bologna (Italy, 2018- )Twitter: @KPJunior_Instagram: @kpjunior_

Height: 2.07m (6’9’’)Position: Power ForwardDate of birth: 26/10/1991Place of birth: Vignola, ItalyCareer: Virtus Bologna (Italy, 2008-10), Perugia Basket (Italy, 2010-12), Auxilium Torino (Italy, 2012-13), Aquila Basket Trento (Italy, 2013-17), Virtus Bologna (Italy, 2017- )Twitter: @filo_82Instagram: @filotto

Date of birth: 26/08/1967Place of birth: Belgrade, SerbiaPlaying Career: Partizan (Yugoslavia, 1984-92), Olimpia Milano (Italy, 1992-94), Fortitudo Bologna (Italy, 1994-96), Port-land Trail Blazers (NBA, 1996), Barcelona (Spain, 1996-99), Real Madrid (Spain, 1999-02), Scavolini Pesaro (Italy, 2003-05), Olimpia Milano (Italy, 2005)Coaching Career: Olimpia Milano (It-aly, 2006-07), Benetton Treviso (Italy, 2011-12), Serbia (national team, 2013- ), Panathinaikos (Greece, 2015-16), Bayern Munich (Germany, 2015-16), Virtus Bolo-gna (Italy, 2019- )

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Alessandro Cappelletti was dubbed as one of the most tal-ented Italian players coming up through Siena’s youth ranks, and teamed up with Simone Fontecchio, Diego Flaccadori and Marco Spissu in the U20 national team. But Cappelletti’s path to glory hit multiple road blocks, suffering serious injuries and going through three surgeries before his 23rd birthday. The reward for his persistence finally arrived last summer, when he received the call from Bologna, and enjoyed a memorable game in Ljubljana, with 10 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds in just 16 minutes of action. Staying healthy is the main objective for Cappelletti in his first season with the Black V on his chest.

ALESSANDRO CAPPELLETTI

MATTEO BERTI

Height: 1.86m (6’1’’)Position: Point GuardDate of birth: 22/10/1995Place of birth: Assisi, ItalyCareer: Mens Sana Siena (Italy, 2013-14), Fulgor Omegna (Italy, 2014-16), Mens Sana Siena (Italy, 2016-18), Virtus Bologna (Italy, 2018- )Instagram: @AleCappe10

Height: 2.11m (6’11’’)Position: CenterDate of birth: 18/08/1998Place of birth: Padua, ItalyCareer: Virtus Bologna (2017- )Instagram: @Matteo.Berti98



Pietro Aradori is an icon of Italian basketball. He started his professional career 14 years ago in Casalpusterlen-go, where he shared the minutes and scoring duties with Danilo Gallinari. With a lot of attention around the two, it was surprise that Milano signed Aradori as a teenager, and early on in his career Pietro won both the award for the Best Italian Player and the Best U22 Player in the Italian League. The shooting guard played more than 400 games in Serie A, and has the experience of playing the Turkish and Spanish Leagues - Aradori spent a season between Galatasaray and Estudiantes in 2014-15. He’ll be there to calm the nerves and find points when Djordjevic wants to slow things down in this high-paced offense led by Tony Taylor, Kevin Punter and Mario Chalmers.

PIETRO ARADORIHeight: 1.96m (6’5’’)Position: Shooting GuardDate of birth: 09/12/1988Place of birth: Brescia, ItalyCareer: Casalpusterlengo (Italy, 2005-06), Andrea Costa Imola (Italy, 2006-07), Olimpia Milano (Italy, 2007-08), Virtus Roma (Italy, 2008), Biella (Italy, 2008-10), Montepaschi Siena (Italy, 2010-12), Can-tu (Italy, 2012-14), Galatasaray (Turkey, 2014), Estudiantes (Spain, 2014-15), Rey-er Venezia (Italy, 2015), Reggio Emilia (It-aly, 2015-17), Virtus Bologna (Italy, 2017- )Twitter: @pietroaradori Instagram: @PietroAradori21




Basketball CL 3.4 2.0 100 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0LBA Serie A PM 2.5 1.0 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5

How do we introduce a name like Mario Chalmers? The two-time NBA champion during his days at the Miami Heat has clutch shots in his DNA. Kansas fans still have memories of the 2008 NCAA Championship game, when he sent it to overtime with a three-pointer with two seconds left to play in the second half against Derrick Rose’s Memphis squad. Chalmers’ heroics got his number 15 retired by the University of Kansas, and now the man from Anchorage, Alaska has European glory in his sights. Returning from a torn Achilles, Chalmers said this jour-ney was about much more than just basketball...but earning some silverware along the way wouldn’t hurt, right? Chalmers has a usage rate of over 30 percent in his small sample size of games with Bologna, meaning he is directly involved in almost every third possession with the ball in his hands.

It is hard to imagine that a soon-to-be 21-year-old Matteo Berti will see action in Antwerp, but if he does - search for his first misses of the season! Of course, the sample is incredibly small, but Berti can still brag about being 100 percent from the field in both the Basketball Champions League and the Italian Championship. Berti comes from the beautiful city of Padua, and made his way to the bench with the Italian na-tional team at the FIBA U20 European Championship last summer. Virtus tied the young center to a three-year contract before the start of the season, expect greater things from him in the years to come.

MARIO CHALMERSHeight: 1.88m (6’2’’)Position: Point GuardDate of birth: 19/05/1986Place of birth: Anchorage, Alaska (USA)Career: Kansas (NCAA, 2005-08), Mi-ami Heat (NBA, 2008-15), Memphis Grizzlies (NBA, 2015-16, 2017-18), Virtus Bologna (Italy, 2019- )Twitter: @mchalmers15Instagram: @MChalmers6

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He made it in the USA, he made it in Japan, now he’s making it in Italy, too. Amath M’Baye was once ranked as one of the top 10 cockiest players in the NCAA by Bleacher Report due to his dunk celebrations in the Oklahoma v Texas rivalry. He also proved he can score the ball in various ways in Japan, leading the scoring charts of their league and winning the MVP of the All-Star Game with 44 points in 2015. M’Baye is still a solid scoring option. A successful campaign in Bologna saw him recently make his debut with the French national team, and he will play defense with a lot of pride, challenging everybody who tries to dunk the ball against Virtus.

The role player every team needs, David Cournooh will have stories to tell one day when he ends his career. A journey-man with a number of different addresses in his Italian ca-reer, with fan bases such as Siena’s, Pistoia’s and Virtus Bo-logna’s backing him along the way. Cournooh will do his job on the defensive end, and stay ready for catch-and-shoot three-pointers, with his percentage up to an impressive 50 percent in the Basketball Champions League, having hit 15-of-30. Amazingly, Cournooh is shooting a higher percentage from beyond the arc than from the free throw line (45.5) in the Basketball Champions League!

Serendipity played its part with Dejan Kravic and Aleksandar Djordjevic. Kravic was on the preliminary list for Serbia in 2014, when coach Djordjevic wanted the big guy from Texas Tech to know that he is being followed. Djordjevic is now getting the chance to see firsthand what Kravic looks like under the rim, and he seems satisfied. Kravic got to double digits in five of Djordje-vic’s first seven games with the club, but more importantly, had 9 blocks over the same period. His shot blocking saved the day against Neptunas in Bologna, as he protected the rim on Loren-zo Williams’ potential game-winning drive, sending the game to OT instead. That block led to a Virtus’ W in the end. The Mos-tar-born Serbian center grew up in Canada, and is related to Ko-sta Perovic, a former member of the Golden State Warriors, and European greats like Partizan, Barcelona, Valencia and Malaga.

The fiercest competitor in the Basketball Champions League made his way to the Final Four. Rarely can you find a player who plays with so much heart, and it extends outside of the court, too. Martin gives back to the youth in his native Adel, Georgia through his charitable foundation Rare Heart. Kelvin Martin feeds on good defense, and will always get the call on the opposition’s primary scorer. You will invariably see Martin grabbing rebounds, forcing turnovers, running the floor and dropping an occasional windmill dunk during the game. Mar-tin’s shot has been his offensive problem, but with guys like Punter, Taylor, Chalmers and others, Kelvin knows it is not his job to do the scoring anyway. In 2017, he was inducted into the CSU Athletics Hall of Fame, as one of the career leaders in rebounds, steals, FG percentage and scoring.

AMATH M’BAYE

DAVID COURNOOH

DEJAN KRAVIC

KELVIN MARTIN

Height: 2.06m (6’9’’)Position: ForwardDate of birth: 14/12/1989Place of birth: Bordeaux, FranceCareer: Wyoming (NCAA, 2009-11), Oklahoma (NCAA, 2012-13), Nagoya Di-amond Dolphins (Japan, 2013-16), New Basket Brindisi (Italy, 2016-17), Olimpia Milano (Italy, 2017-18), Virtus Bologna (Italy, 2018- )Twitter: @Amath22JuiceInstagram: @Amath24

Height: 1.87m (6’2’’)Position: Shooting GuardDate of birth: 28/07/1990Place of birth: Villafranca di Verona, ItalyCareer: Mens Sana Siena (Italy, 2005-14), Virtus Siena (Italy, 2008-09), Junior Casale (Italy, 2009-10), BC Ferrara (Italy, 2010-11), Andrea Costa Imola (Italy, 2011-12), Biancoblu Basket Bologna (Italy, 2012-13), New Basket Brindisi (Italy, 2014-16), Pistoia Basket (Italy, 2016-17), Cantu (Italy, 2017-18), Virtus Bologna (Italy, 2018- )Instagram: @Reginald_Cournooh

Height: 2.13m (7’0’’)Position: CenterDate of birth: 09/09/1990Place of birth: Mostar, Bosnia and HerzegovinaCareer: York (NCAA, 2009-11), Texas Tech (NCAA, 2012-14), Rethymno Cre-tan Kings (Greece, 2014-15), New He-roes Den Bosch (Netherlands, 2015-16), Rethymno Cretan Kings (Greece, 2016-17), Basic-Fit Brussels (Belgium, 2017), Panionios (Greece, 2017-18), Virtus Bo-logna (Italy, 2018- )Twitter: @Dejan_Kravic Instagram: @DKravic11

Height: 1.95m (6’5’’)Position: ForwardDate of birth: 10/09/1989Place of birth: Adel, Georgia (USA)Career: Charleston Southern (NCAA, 2008-12), Matrixx Magixx Wijchen (Neth-erlands, 2012-14), MLP Academics Hei-delberg (Germany, 2014-15), Moncada Agrigento (Italy, 2015-16), MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg (Germany, 2016-17), Vanoli Cremona (Italy, 2017-18), Virtus Bologna (Italy, 2018- )Twitter: @ke1vinmartinInstagram: @kelvinmartin

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It is hard not to fall in love with Brian Qvale. Even if you put aside his basketball qualities - which we had witnessed back in Season One, when he averaged 14.1 points and 6.6 re-bounds in just 23.0 minutes per game for EWE Baskets Old-enburg - Brian would still be a colorful character. He owns a farm back in North Dakota, loves football, Will Ferrell and the TV show Family Guy. Bologna are “lucky there’s a fam-ily guy” on their team, with Qvale helping them out against Promitheas twice this season, setting his Basketball Cham-pions League season-highs at 16 points. Brian is one of the best offensive rebounders in the game, giving Virtus four or five additional possessions in a hurry.

They say the point guard should be the brain of the team, and has to think faster than anybody else on the floor. Tony Taylor fits the description perfectly, as he enjoyed chess and Sudo-ku puzzles during his college years at the George Washington University. A fact which certainly helped him develop a better understanding of all the puzzles that go on during a basket-ball game. Taylor is shooting above 50 percent from the field, above 40 percent from the three-point range and he knows how to get his teammates involved, too - leading the team’s assist stats in both the Basketball Champions League and the Italian Serie A. Taylor wouldn’t mind staying in Bologna, it seems. Recently, his father visited him for the first time since Tony took his talents across the Atlantic in 2013, maybe that’s a sign that he has found a home in Italy.

Still a teenager, Alessandro Pajola is slowly but surely making his way to professional basketball, after he had shown a lot of potential with the Italian youth teams. He was the youngest player in the silver-medal winning Italian squad at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in 2017. Pajola started in the Final against RJ Barrett and team Canada. Pajola has been a project of Virtus since joining the club as a kid from Stamura Basket Ancona, and now he has a golden opportunity to learn about the point guard position - not just from his more experienced teammates, but also from coach Djordjevic, one of the all-time greats at the PG position.

You can talk about anything with Yanick Moreira. The Ango-lan center majored in Spanish, Applied Physiology and Sports Management at the Southern Methodist University in 2015, giving him a background like no other in this Final Four lineup. Moreira is here to take care of the rebounding and shot-block-ing, having started the season with PAOK in Thessaloniki, Greece. He had NBA Summer League experiences with the LA Clippers and the Toronto Raptors, and was a weapon off the bench for Raptors 905 in the NBA G League in 2016-17. But throughout his club career, Moreira always made it know how proud he is when Angolan basketball is in question. He’s a regular member of the national team, and uses social me-dia to promote his teammates, and especially his “son,” as he calls him, Maryland’s flying tower Bruno Fernando.

BRIAN QVALE

TONY TAYLOR

ALESSANDRO PAJOLA

YANICK MOREIRAHeight: 2.10m (6’11’’)Position: CenterDate of birth: 03/11/1988Place of birth: Williston, North Dakota (USA)Career: Montana (NCAA, 2007-11), Aliaga Petkim (Turkey, 2011-12), Belfius Mons-Hain-aut (Belgium, 2012-13), medi Bayreuth (Ger-many, 2013-14), Tofas (Turkey, 2014-15), EWE Baskets Oldenburg (Germany, 2015-17), Lokomotiv Kuban (Russia, 2017-18), Vir-tus Bologna (Italy, 2018- )Instagram: @b_qvale

Height: 1.83m (6’0’’)Position: Point GuardDate of birth: 09/08/1990Place of birth: Sleepy Hollow, New York (USA)Career: George Washington (NCAA, 2008-12), Tulsa 66ers (NBA G League, 2012-13), Turow Zgorzelec (Poland, 2013-15), Enisey Krasnoyarsk (Russia, 2015-16), SIG Stras-bourg (France, 2016), Enisey Krasnoyarsk (Russia, 2016-17), Banvit (Turkey, 2017-18), Virtus Bologna (Italy, 2018- )Twitter: @2cooltoneInstagram: @2cooltone

Height: 1.93m (6’4’’)Position: Point GuardDate of birth: 09/11/1999Place of birth: Ancona, ItalyCareer: Virtus Bologna (Italy, 2015- )Instagram: @alessandro.pajola

Height: 2.05m (6’9’’)Position: CenterDate of birth: 31/07/1991Place of birth: Luanda, AngolaCareer: Primeiro de Agosto (Angola, 2008-11), South Plains (NCAA, 2011-13), SMU (NCAA, 2013-15), Rouen Metropole (France, 2015-16), UCAM Murcia (Spain, 2016), Raptors 905 (NBA G League, 2016-17), Sanat Naft Abadan (Iran, 2017), Parma (Russia, 2017-18), PAOK (Greece, 2018-19), Virtus Bologna (Italy, 2019- )Twitter: @Ymoreira02Instagram: @Y_Moreira

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TELENET GIANTS ANTWERP TEAM PROFILE

What a season Telenet Giants Antwerp are hav-

ing! Roel Moors squad is enjoying the club’s best

period in years, both domestically and in Europe.

Since 2011, Oostende have been clearly the big-

gest guns in Belgium, but the pecking order is

much less clearly defined in 2018-19. The Giants

have already broken Oostende’s monopoly of the

Belgian cup. In March, Antwerp became the first

club to beat Oostende in seven years, and the

race for the EuroMillions Basketball League title

is also very much on. In Europe, Antwerp have

already gone one better than its esteemed rivals

by becoming the first Belgian club to reach the

Play-Offs of the Basketball Champions League.

The fact that they have not only gone on to to

make the Final Four, but also host the event on a

weekend when they already had the Sportpaleis

booked, has an air of fate about it.

If anyone tries to claim that they predicted An-

twerp having this kind of success this season,

they are probably lying, or they are Roel Moors

in disguise. After splitting the first two games of

the season - an impressive road win at Lietkabelis

and a disappointing home loss to Montakit Fuen-

labrada, nobody was quite sure what to make of

this young Antwerp group.

ONE SMALL STEP FOR A CLUB, ONE GIANT LEAP FOR BELGIAN BASKETBALL

38


After they dispatched Hapoel Bank Yahav Je-

rusalem at home in the next game - scoring 101

points during regular time in the process - every-

one sat up and took note.

Of course, Antwerp’s Basketball Champions

League season didn’t start in the Regular Sea-

son. The Giants (like the Giants of Ludwigsburg

last year) have progressed from the first round of

Qualifying Rounds to reach the Final Four. Even

after that impressive win over Jerusalem, it still

would have taken a brave man to put stock in An-

twerp coming out of a stacked Group C.

But make it out they did. Although that was the

only time Antwerp beat any of the other Group C

beasts that progressed to the Play-Offs (AEK, Je-

rusalem and Bamberg), the Giants finished with a

7-7 record and made history for Belgian basketball.

The Play-Offs offered another opportunity for

the doubters to doubt. Last year’s third-placed

team UCAM Murcia had only lost one game in the

Regular Season, and with so many of last sea-

son’s squad returning, the experience and quality

on the roster looked a tough matchup for Coach

Moors squad. Paris Lee, however, hasn’t been

much interested in the thoughts of doubters all

season and, in fact, plays like a man that has been

proving doubters wrong his whole life.

His 21 and 14 points in the two legs earned him a

spot in the Team of the Round of 16. The three-

point heartbreaker he nailed at the end of the first

leg also gave Antwerp an 8-point cushion heading

to Spain, and it was a lead that proved too much

for Murcia. Ismael Bako and Jae’Sean Tate also

contributed double figure scoring in both games

as Antwerp outworked one of the competition’s

hardest working teams.

39

More than outwork, Antwerp also out-executed

Murcia. By the time of the Quarter-Finals, Ant-

werp were the Belgian Cup winners and went into

both legs against Nizhny Novgorod with so much

confidence that the contest was over before it

ever really started.

Statistically, this Antwerp team has been stron-

gest in three categories. They rank second

amongst the Final Four teams for rebound per-

centage, steals and three-point shooting. The Gi-

ants hoover up 51 percent of all available rebounds,

collect 7 steals each contest and shoot over 35

percent from deep. If you look at their shot map,

you will also see that the impressive thing about

Antwerp’s shooting is that every zone outside the

arc is an efficient zone for the Belgians.

This young Antwerp team is special for a vari-

ety of reasons. Starting with the coaching, Roel

Moors is the favorite to win Coach of the Year for

good reason. Moors was a legendary player at

Antwerp and has his jersey retired in the Lotto

Arena. He is already working towards becoming a

legend as a coach there too. What he has done so

well, is to find a stable structure that also allows

this team to express its energy, creativity and un-

predictableness. The rotations have been strict all

season, so these young players know where they

stand, the system has been the right combination

of discipline and room to freelance - especially in

transition. Moors has also drawn up must-watch

plays in timeouts all season. The main threats on

this team are Ismael Bako anywhere around the

rim (but especially above it), Paris Lee in transi-

tion and creating from pick-and-rolls, and Jae’Se-

an Tate brimming with energy, hustle and ideas.

40


Victor Sanders has also grown as the season pro-

gressed and was elite against Nizhny Novgorod

in the Quarter-Finals. Hans Vanwijn does a bit of

everything and looks an incredible player in the

making. It doesn’t end there either.

Antwerp has had contributions from all over

the roster at different times in the season. Ty-

ler Kalinoski is more than capable of creating

his own shot and Tenerife will certainly not be

able to sleep on the likes of Dave Dudzinski or

Dennis Donkor.

In two seasons of the Basketball Champions

League Final Fours, the hosts have won on both

occasions. There will likely be the best part of

18,000 fans in the Sportpaleis, and when you

combine that with the fearlessness and talent of

this young Antwerp squad, even the most hard-

ened doubter from earlier in the season, would

be hard pressed to write them team. It is pretty

clear that several members of this young group

are going to have distinguished careers. We can

already tell they have very bright futures. For

now though, it is all about finding out what they

are capable in the present.

41


Basketball CL 29.1 13.7 39.7 35.3 2.4 5.0 1.9 0.0EuroMillions BL 24.3 12.2 42.9 38.0 2.0 5.8 1.8 0.0

The biggest win of the season for Telenet Giants Antwerp? Locking up Paris Lee until 2020 with a new contract. The point guard has been nothing short of sensational since starting his professional career with the Belgian outfit in 2017, and his ability to read the plays of the opponent takes him to 1.9 steals per game in the Basketball Champions League and 1.8 in the Belgian League. Lee loves to scan the field on the offensive end, too, with 5.0 assists per game in this competition and an even more impressive average of 5.8 domestically. And just when you think that you can re-lax because you stopped him from distributing the ball, he hits you with a wild lefty stepback. Lee just turned 24, and Antwerp are going to have a hard time protecting him from the calls of bigger clubs all over the world. Lee was a for-mer Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, joining elite names such as Larry Bird, Hersey Hawkins, Kyle Kor-ver, Doug McDermott and Fred VanVleet, who also won the award. Lee’s haircut also holds a special story. He dyed his dreadlocks red as part of a bet with an Antwerp fan, saying Antwerp would win the 2019 Belgian Cup!

A living legend of Antwerp basketball is still living up to the hype, pushing the limits of the club outside of the nation’s borders, being just two steps away from European glory. Roel Moors was one of the best Belgian players of all time. A point guard who won four awards for the Best Belgian Player of the Season. He always emphasized how important it was for the team to reach the Regular Season this time around, after dropping out in the Qualifying Rounds last season, and it’s easy to see why - getting tested all over Europe each week helped this team grow, with Moors leading it to a trophy in the Belgian Cup, ending Oostende’s run of six straight titles. The next mission is to end Oostende’s run of seven straight League titles, and this Final Four could be the confidence builder Moors and Antwerp need to achieve that feat.

PARIS LEEROEL MOORSHeight: 1.83m (6’0’’)Position: Point GuardDate of birth: 20/04/1995Place of birth: Maywood, Illinois (USA)Career: Illinois State (NCAA, 2013-17), Telenet Giants Antwerp (Belgium 2017- )Twitter: @_plee1 Instagram: @_PLee1

Date of birth: 16/12/1978Place of birth: Herentals, BelgiumPlaying Career: Nieuw Brabo Antwerp (Belgium, 1996-97), Bree (Belgium, 1997-98), Cuva Houthalen (Belgium, 1999), Ba-sic-Fit Brussels (Belgium, 1999-00), Rac-ing Antwerp (Belgium, 2000-02), Spirou Charleroi (Belgium, 2002-06), ASVEL (France, 2006-07), Leuven Bears (Bel-gium, 2007), Spirou Charleroi (Belgium, 2007-08), Gent Hawks (Belgium, 2008-09), Antwerp Giants (Belgium 2009-15)Coaching Career: Telenet Antwerp Giants (Belgium, 2015- ), Belgium U20 (national team, 2018- )



There is nothing on the basketball court that could happen to scare Jae’Sean Tate. A beast on the wing, Tate is fast, con-trolling his body in a surreal way on his drives, flying high to get the dunks and working harder than anybody to get a re-liable shot from beyond the arc. The fact that he is shooting 39.5 from long range in the Basketball Champions League, and 50 percent from the same distance in the Belgian League speaks volumes of his shooting improvement. Tate is a high-light reel waiting to happen, and make sure you notice the Key tattoo on his leg when he flies by. It is dedicated to his mother Cori Key, who was murdered when Jae’Sean was just 8 years old. His father Jermaine also played professionally, in Cyprus, Argentina, France, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Philippines, Chile, Croatia, Venezuela, Japan and USA.

JAE’SEAN TATEHeight: 1.93m (6’4’’)Position: Small ForwardDate of birth: 28/10/1995Place of birth: Toledo, Ohio (USA)Career: Ohio State (NCAA, 2014-18), Telenet Giants Antwerp (Belgium, 2018-)Twitter: @o_tate_Instagram: @o_Tate

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You can search far and wide, but we seriously doubt you will find a man with such a deep sporting background. Tyler Kalinoski’s dad played football at Purdue, his uncle played baseball for the Baltimore Orioles, his grandfather played hockey with the Toronto Maple Leafs, his aunt played soccer at North Carolina, and the other grandfather was a mem-ber of the track and field team at Ohio State. Tyler took a bit of everything from each of them and went into basketball, becoming Antwerp’s primary shooting threat, averaging just under 10 points per game while shooting 44 percent from beyond the arc. Kalinoski is yet another returning player from the 2017-18 campaign, when he averaged almost identical numbers to this season.

The biggest winner of Antwerp’s rise this season is the dunk-ing giant in the middle. Ismael Bako is the prototype of a modern center, who runs the floor without a problem, sets good screens and can catch an alley-oop from the rafters. On the defensive end, he allows guys like Jae’Sean Tate and Paris Lee to take an occasional gamble and go for a steal, as they know that their 1.3-blocks-per -game center is protecting their back. Bako will dunk everything from anywhere around the rim, and he is adding a midrange jumper to his skill set, too. The youngest member of the Belgian national team at the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 is starting to add trophies to his collec-tion. An MVP award in the Final of the Belgian Cup proves that he is on a right path.

TYLER KALINOSKI ISMAEL BAKO

HANS VANWIJN

Height: 1.93m (6’4’’)Position: Shooting GuardDate of birth: 19/12/1992Place of birth: Overland Park, Kansas (USA)Career: Davidson (NCAA, 2011-15), Elan Chalon (France, 2015-16), Apollon Patras (Greece, 2016-17), Telenet Giants Ant-werp (Belgium, 2017- )Twitter: @Tkal24Instagram: @Tyler_Kalinoski24

Height: 2.08m (6’10’’)Position: CenterDate of birth: 10/10/1995Place of birth: Leuven, BelgiumCareer: Leuven Bears (Belgium, 2012-17), Telenet Giants Antwerp (Belgium, 2017- )Instagram: @ismaelbako21

Height: 2.08m (6’10’’)Position: Power ForwardDate of birth: 15/02/1995Place of birth: Heusden-Zolder, BelgiumCareer: Leuven Bears (Belgium, 2013-14), Limburg United (Belgium, 2014-17), Telenet Giants Antwerp (Belgium, 2017- )Instagram: @HVw9





The businessman of the group! Dave Dudzinski is an Eco-nomics and Accounting major, speaking Italian and Span-ish along with his native English language. His volunteering work saw him help repair outdoor basketball courts in Coji-mar, Cuba and the surrounding towns. And even when his professional basketball career started, Dave did not stop im-proving, even serving as a strength coach intern at Jacked on the Hill for two months in the summer of 2016. Don’t let that distract you from the fact that Dave The Dude is a mar-velous basketball player, averaging eight points per game in both competitions for Antwerp, while flirting with the 40 percent mark from beyond the arc.

Telenet Antwerp Giants did not hesitate when they had the chance to bring in the 2015-16 Best Young Player of the Year to their team, signing a three-year contract with Hans Vanwi-jn in 2017. The forward has continued his growth, reaching a regular spot on the national team roster, while doing a bit of everything on the floor. Hans is almost a seven-footer, who handles the ball really well, which allows him to average over two assists per game in limited time, and he is there to collect a steal or a block while scoring on nearly half of his shots and grabbing rebounds left and right. Vanwijn worked out with OKC Thunder over the summer of 2018, and dreams of playing abroad, for a Top 8 team in Spain, Italy or Germany.

DAVE DUDZINSKIHeight: 2.06m (6’9’’)Position: Power ForwardDate of birth: 26/05/1992Place of birth: Elburn, Illinois (USA)Career: Holy Cross (NCAA, 2010-14), Fortitudo Agrigento (Italy, 2014-15), Si-auliai (Lithuania, 2015-16), Steaua Bu-charest (Romania, 2016-17), Telenet Gi-ants Antwerp (Belgium, 2017- )Twitter: @DaveTheDude50Instagram: @DaveDudz

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Continuing what Hans Vanwijn and Ismael Bako started, Thomas Akyazili is the third straight winner of the Best Young Player award in this lineup. A Final Four in Antwerp is a dream come true for the point guard, who grew up as a huge Ant-werp fan and went to each game as a kid, before finally joining the club when he was 14. Thomas spent a brief time in the USA, but came back home when the opportunity to become a pro presented itself. It seems like the decision was a good one, with Akyazili not being afraid to try some wild passes off the backboard or behind the back in the halfcourt. A huge fan of tattoos, Akyazili loves the warrior tattoo on his arm the most, which symbolizes the toughness and fighting spirit of his mom, a cancer survivor.

Another player with an incredible personal story. Sanders and his dad have a father-son bond like no other, and his life events have made him unbreakable on the basketball court. Victor Sanders was brought up by his grandparents, after his mother had left when he was a baby, and his father spent time in prison. But Victor stayed close to his dad through those horrible years, and the connection between the two grew as dad never missed Victor’s games at Idaho in the NCAA. Num-bers do lie. Sanders is an elite shooter, despite averaging just 30 percent from beyond the arc in the Basketball Champi-ons League - just ask Jerusalem if you don’t believe us. He destroyed them with 22 points on 4-of-8 from deep in just 20 minutes of work, which describes his style in a nutshell. Sanders’ role is growing as the season progresses now that the period of adaptation is over for the rookie.

Dennis Donkor will turn 28 over the summer...and yet, he is the oldest Telenet Giants Antwerp player this season! The shooting guard is not afraid to take shots, averaging over three 3-point attempts per game in the Basketball Champions League, de-spite playing just under 13 minutes per contest. Donkor is the hometown hero for Antwerp, born and raised in the city, mak-ing his debut with the club in 2008-09 season. Two stops with Limburg and Willebroek were enough for him to earn a come-back, signing with Antwerp in 2017. Donkor was a member of all Belgian youth teams from 2006 to 2011, reaching the All-Star five at the FIBA U20 European Championship, Division B in 2011, thanks to his 18.9 points per game at the event.

No matter what happens, Yoeri Schoepen will always have a place in Telenet Giants Antwerp’s history books. Back in the 2015-16 season, Antwerp faced ASVEL in the Round of 16 of the FIBA Europe Cup, and to say that Yoeri caught fire in the fourth quarter would be a serious understatement. Schoepen went on a personal 11-0 run in just 90 seconds (!), erasing a seven-point deficit and sending Antwerp towards one of their most impressive European wins in club history. Schoepen is yet another player that can shoot the ball and get up to throw it down. But he only has one problem before the Final Four - Liege Basket will not be there. And they are the only team that allowed him to reach double figures this season. Twice.

THOMAS AKYAZILI

VICTOR SANDERS

DENNIS DONKOR

YOERI SCHOEPEN

Height: 1.88m (6’2’’)Position: Point GuardDate of birth: 15/01/1997Place of birth: Mortsel, BelgiumCareer: Telenet Giants Antwerp (Bel-gium, 2013-15), Colorado (NCAA, 2015-17), Telenet Giants Antwerp (Belgium, 2017- )Twitter: @AkyaziliThomasInstagram: @akyazilithomas

Height: 1.96m (6’5’’)Position: Shooting GuardDate of birth: 16/02/1995Place of birth: Portland, Oregon (USA)Career: Idaho (NCAA, 2014-18), Telenet Giants Antwerp (Belgium, 2018- )Instagram: @Suga_Hi11

Height: 1.93m (6’4’’)Position: Shooting GuardDate of birth: 15/07/1991Place of birth: Antwerp, BelgiumCareer: Telenet Giants Antwerp (Bel-gium, 2008-14), Limburg United (Belgium, 2014-16), Kangoeroes Basket Willebroek (Belgium, 2016-17), Telenet Giants Ant-werp (Belgium, 2017- )Twitter: @DonkorD Instagram: @DonkorD

Height: 2.01m (6’7’’)Position: Power ForwardDate of birth: 30/03/1994Place of birth: Antwerp, BelgiumCareer: Telenet Giants Antwerp (Bel-gium, 2014- )Twitter: @Yschoepen Instagram: @YSchoepen

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Vrenz Bleijenbergh did not even have to play a full season at senior level to make the news. The youngster entered his name in the 2019 NBA Draft, hiring a well-known agency to help him with the process. The forward drew attention to himself over the summer, earning a spot on the All-Star Five at the FIBA U18 European Championship, Division B, alongside Bamberg’s Henri Drell. Bleijenbergh averaged 13.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.1 steals during the tournament, which he rounded out with a sub-lime 18-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist triple-double against Estonia in the Third-Place Game. We are hoping to see some of that magic during the Final Four, but don’t be disappoint-ed if it doesn’t happen. Vrenz Bleijenbergh is a name we will hear a lot in the near future.

Trevor Thompson was a late addition to this squad, coming over from Antibes Sharks in France, becoming reunited with his college teammate Jae’Sean Tate. Thompson has not seen a lot of playing time in the Basketball Champions League. However, being a seven-footer with experience not only from France and the NCAA, but also from the Santa Cruz Warriors in the NBA G League, Thompson could find a role down low once Ismael Bako is on the bench. Trevor’s decision to pursue basketball was not following the path set by his father - Ryan Orlando Thompson was an outfielder in the MLB for nine sea-sons, playing for New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Florida Marlins and Milwaukee Brewers during that span.

VRENZ BLEIJENBERGHTREVOR THOMPSONHeight: 2.02m (6’8’’)Position: Small ForwardDate of birth: 14/10/2000Place of birth: Antwerp, BelgiumCareer: Telenet Giants Antwerp (Bel-gium, 2018- )Twitter: @Vrenzzz Instagram: @Vrenzzz

Height: 2.13m (7’0’’)Position: CenterDate of birth: 12/06/1994Place of birth: Long Island, New York (USA)Career: Virginia Tech (NCAA, 2013-14), Ohio State (NCAA, 2015-17), Santa Cruz Warriors (NBA G League, 2017-18), An-tibes Sharks (France, 2018-19), Telenet Giants Antwerp (Belgium, 2019- )Twitter: @TrevBallinTrey2Instagram: @TrevBeBallin32

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FINAL FOUR OFFICIALS

REFEREES

TECHNICAL DELEGATES

GLISIC AleksandarSerbia

KOZLOVSKIS MartinsLatvia

LUCIS OskarsLatvia

POURSANIDIS GeorgiosGreece

BALCI Emin Turkey

ROSSO Yohan France

YILMAZ YenerTurkey

ZASHCHUK SergiyUkraine

ZURAPOVIC Ademir Bosnia and Herzegovina

RADONJIC GoranFrance

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The last 10 minutes of all Official teams’ practices are open to media. Accredited media representatives

and photographers can enter the court area. All times indicated are local times. All practices will take

place in the Sportpaleis arena (Schijnpoortweg 119, 2170 Antwerp, Belgium).

START TIME END ACTIVITY TEAM NOTE

10:00 11:00 PRACTICE Brose Bamberg Official, Mixed Zone & Media Access

11:00 12:00 PRACTICE Iberostar Tenerife Official, Mixed Zone & Media Access

12:00 13:00 PRACTICE Telenet Giants Antwerp Official, Mixed Zone & Media Access

17:15 18:45 PRACTICE Segafredo Virtus Bologna Official, Mixed Zone & Media Access






10:00 11:00 PRACTICE Segafredo Virtus Bologna Official, Mixed Zone & Media Access




10:00 11:30 PRACTICE L Team SF1 Official, Mixed Zone & Media Access


13:00 14:30 PRACTICE W Team SF1 Official, Mixed Zone & Media Access







OFFICIAL PRACTICES

THURSDAY 2 MAY 2019

FRIDAY 3 MAY 2019

SATURDAY 4 MAY 2019

SUNDAY 5 MAY 2019

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MEDIA ACTIVITIES1. OFFICIAL MEDIA ACTIVITIESTHURSDAY 2 MAY 2019

• 13:30-14:30: Official Press Conference with the Head Coaches and captains of four participating teams.

Location: Sportpaleis, Main Court

• 14:30-: Press availability with Patrick Comninos, BCL CEO

Location: Sportpaleis, Main Court

FRIDAY 3 MAY 2019

• Media working room and media tribune

• Mixed zone

• Post-game press conferences

Location: Sportpaleis, Media Centre

SATURDAY 4 MAY 2019

• 11:30: Media roundtable with Patrick Comninos, BCL CEO

Location: Hilton Antwerp Old Town, Room Tiffany (Groenplaats 32, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium)

• 14:30-15:00 and 16:00-16:30: Press conference with Head Coach and key player of each of both finalists

(after their respective practice)

Location: Sportpaleis, Press Conference Room

• 18:00-20:00: Media Reception and Season Awards Ceremony

Location: Hilton Antwerp Old Town, Ballroom

All accredited media are invited.

Players, coaches, BCL and FIBA management will be available to media during the reception.

SUNDAY 5 MAY 2019

• Media working room and media tribune

• Mixed zone

• Post-game press conferences

Location: Sportpaleis, Media Centre

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2. GAMESAll games will be played in the Sportpaleis arena

(Schijnpoortweg 119, 2170 Antwerp, Belgium)

FRIDAY 3 MAY 2019

Semi-Final 1: Segafredo Virtus Bologna (ITA) v Brose Bamberg (GER): 18:30

Semi-Final 2: Iberostar Tenerife (ESP) v Telenet Giants Antwerp (BEL): 21:15

SUNDAY 5 MAY 2019

3rd Place Game: 15:00

Final: 18:00

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Basketball Champions League

5, route Suisse – P.O. Box 29

Mies, 1295 Switzerland

[email protected]

www.championsleague.basketball

OFFICIAL PROGRAM - Youreka

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