By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
The joy of culminating the seventh season of the Basketball Champions League by being crowned champions is just one win away for both Telekom Baskets Bonn and Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem (20.00 CET).
Bonn got in the final after defeating hosts Unicaja who had the support of their home fans inside the Martin Carpena arena. Bonn led 69-67 and TJ Shorts II had two free-throw attempts to seal the game, but missed both, leaving the door open for Unicaja to tie or win the game. Kendrick Perry went for the win, but his three-point attempt hit the front rim.
Jerusalem made it to the title game after taking down defending champions Lenovo Tenerife. The Israeli club led by as many as 15 points and also by 10 points heading into the fourth quarter, but Tenerife made their comeback.
Siim-Sander Vene knocked down a couple of clutch shots down the stretch, one three-pointer to tie the game at 61, and then converted a four-point play to tie the game at 67. Khadeen Carrington sealed the deal with a driving layup to put Jerusalem on top for good, 69-68.
History will be made no matter what
Bonn and Jerusalem will be the first German and Israeli teams, respectfully, to take part in a BCL Final. Previously, five countries managed to have teams reach the championship game including France, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Turkey.
For only the second time in the history of the BCL, there will be no Spanish team in the Final. The other time this happened was back in 2018 when Monaco and AEK faced each other in the championship.
For the third season in a row, the BCL Final Four/Quarter-Finals host will not take part in the Final after reaching the title game in three of the first four editions.