ATHENS (Greece) - Third-place games in the history of the Basketball Champions League Final Four have always left a sense of bittersweet. On one hand, teams do want to fight for the last satisfaction after a long season of sacrifices, but they also know it's not what they wanted entering the weekend.
This usually results in tight and balanced games, especially in the last two seasons, where La Laguna Tenerife and UCAM Murcia, respectively, beat Unicaja and Peristeri with margins of five or fewer points.
This season's BCL Final Four, powered by SUNEL, wasn't an exception for anticipation and atmosphere, since fans from AEK Betsson BC continued pushing their team no matter what.
Moreover, it confirmed the recent trend, as the winners stood on top with just a four-point margin.
Despite being down by 17 points in the first half, AEK once again managed to come back, beating Tenerife 77 -73 and celebrating in front of their beloved people. This is their third time on the BCL podium, after winning the League in 2018 and finishing second in 2020.
Turning point
They might have not been contending for the third BCL title in the club's history, but at least Tenerife would have wanted to conclude their trajectory with yet another bronze around their necks; it would have been the second in three years, and the fourth consecutive medal, if we include the title in 2022 and silver in 2024.
Instead, after dominating the first half and trying to control AEK in the third quarter, Hunter Hale emerged to save the day with a pull-up shot to beat the buzzer at the end of the third, giving immense confidence to Dragan Sakota's team.
With a resounding 31-18 run in the fourth quarter, Dragan Sakota's team grabbed the victory, confirming their status as one of the best comeback teams in the history of the competition.
They have now won five games after being down by 17 or more points in the BCL, only Hapoel Jerusalem have more such wins at six.
This is also the first time in the history of the Basketball Champions League Final Four that the team losing at halftime ended up winning the third-place game. And how they won it.
Game hero
Hunter Hale was AEK's missing piece in the Semi-Finals. And his team felt it. They needed their leader.
He was scoring 12.1 points per game in the first half of his eight BCL games before the BCL Final Four, while on Friday and Sunday, he combined for a total of 2 points in the first halves.
But as said, something happened between the third and fourth quarter, and the American guard had "his way" of concluding things in the BCL Final Four, powered by SUNEL.
Despite shooting 1-of-6 from beyond the arc, he had clutch possessions, finishing with 16 points in the win. He also performed a perfect 9-of-9 shooting night at the charity stripe.
The third-place game was also the occasion to see Rajyon Tucker take off in several occasions, probably tempted by being very close to the Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos.
Joining AEK a few weeks before qualifying and hosting the BCL Final Four, powered by SUNEL, the 27-year-old athletic forward put up his highest scoring game in the competition, finishing with a team-high 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Stats don't lie
37:32. Those are the minutes in which Tenerife had the lead since the beginning of the third-place game, especially thanks to second-chance opportunities off 20 offensive rebounds. But they weren't enough.
AEK confirmed their comeback legacy, sharing the ball well on offense with 19 assists and attacking in transition thanks to the quickness of guards such as Hunter Hale and Prentiss Hubb.
What made the Greek team's victory even more impressive is that this ultimately was Tenerife's only second defeat in the 78 BCL games in which they were leading by 17 or more points.
Bottom line
After playing one of the most dominant Basketball Champions League seasons of all time, heading to the BCL Final Four, powered by SUNEL, undefeated at 14-0, Tenerife lost back-to-back games in the Semi-Finals and Finals.
Without Fran Guerra, however, they couldn't be performing at the same level, and it clearly showed on the court. On Sunday, Giorgi Shermadini tied the all-time BCL record in offensive rebounds, at 11.
They will be back hungrier than ever next season, possibly with the first back-to-back-to-back MVP of the Season in Marcelinho Huertas. He showed he could do it all, so why not?
They said
"Very happy to finish this competition with a win. All these teams have been competitive. We are very happy about the fans, also. Coaching in the years before, I wasn't seeing that much people. The way we play, we try, we fight, and never give up: they recognized it, and show their support. Fans, players, and my staff are really fantastic this season." - AEK Betsson BC's head coach, Dragan Sakota.
"I don't like to be before players, but coming back one more time in AEK, I'm looking at this recognition, and our fans accepting everything we are trying to do. Probably this is the result. Of course, I belong to AEK. It's very beautiful for me." - Sakota again.
"I want to say thank you to the fans who come out to support us every single night, and to our coaching staff. We kept fighting and ended up getting the lead. I'm happy we finished the season this way. At the end of the day, my teammates and my coaches trust me. That's the confidence I need. The way we have ended the season is really special for us." - AEK Betsson BC's guard, Hunter Hale.
"I'm really satisfied, because I think we controlled the game, and we played really well. Of course, I want to congratulate Coach Sakota, his players, his club, and AEK fans for this win. They scored difficult shots in key moments, we missed wide-open shots in the second half. That was the key to the game, but I'm really happy because we could test our ambition and make the best of what we could show everybody." - La Laguna Tenerife's head coach, Txus Vidorreta.
"Without Fran [Guerra], Joan [Sastre], and Bruno [Fitipaldo], being at this level is satisfying. Jaime Fernandez is recovering after one year out, but he did a very good job in the first half. We are very happy, because he has shown everybody he's recovering." - Vidorreta again.
"Congratulations to AEK, they played a good game and turned it around. It's a disappointment for us, we were wishing for better results, but I think down the line we will be able to appreciate what we did this season. Once the ball is tipped, we had good energy, and it was a very good atmosphere; it was, as always, a well-organized BCL Final Four, a good environment. We will remember the experience." - La Laguna Tenerife's player Tim Abromaitis.