Maccabi and Skipper in the Euroleague's final

Maccabi and Skipper will play in the Euroleague’s final on Saturday in Tel Aviv! The team from Bologna had to play over-time to defeat Siena 103:102 with Delfino bagging most points 24, while Maccabi was succesful against CSKA in the second semi-final 93:85 and will play for the European crown to the deligth of many fans.

By rolling spectacularly through a memorable second half, Maccabi Tel Aviv beat mighty CSKA Moscow 93-85 in the second Euroleague semifinal on Thursday. Having trailed by 11 in the first half, Maccabi closed the gap to just a point at halftime and used its surging momentum to put the game away in the fourth quarter. In a game that featured stars from top to bottom of both lineups, Anthony Parker proved to be the biggest one of all. He poured in 27 points including a pair of alley-oop dunks in the game-turning third quarter that almost lifted Nokia Arena off its foundation. Maccabi took a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter and never let it slip below five to the finish. The game-breaker was Tal Burstein's triple with 2:30 left, giving Maccabi its biggest lead of the game, 80-68, after which CSKA could not pull within striking distance.

Scorers for Maccabi: Burstein 5, Sharp 1, Vujčić 14, Jasikevičius 18, Shelef 2, Halperin 4, Parker 27, Baston 11, Bluthenthal 9, Thomas 2; for CSKA: Alexander 12, Yudin 2, Holden 16, Monya 10, Turkcan 10, Brown 23, Papaloukas 6, Tarlač 6.

After fighting off one comeback attempt after another, Skipper Bologna outlasted Montepaschi Siena 102-103 after overtime in their semifinal. Carlos Delfino's free throw with 11.6 seconds left in overtime broke yet another tie and sent Skipper to its first European final ever. Lead changes and ties marked much of the fourth quarter and overtime, but it was appropriate that Delfino finished it, as he led Skipper with 27 points in 41 minutes on the floor. He had another protagonist to contend with, Mikaliouz Kakiouzis of Montepaschi, whose three-pointer sent the game to overtime 90-90. Both teams failed to score early in the extra period in a game full of excitement. Gianmarco Pozzecco and Thornton stepped up for their respective teams but when Skipper needed a go-to guy, it found Delfino who hit a crucial triple for 100-102. In the last shot of the game, Dušan Vukčević missed a triple that put Skipper in the final.

Scorers for Siena: Stefanov 14, Žukauskas 10, Vanterpool 10, Galanda 2, Thornton 26, Andersen 17, Kakiouzis 23; for Skipper: Möttola 12, Basile 5, Mancinelli 6, Smodiš 14, Pozzecco 10, Vujanić 12, Van der Spiegel 4, Lorbek 2, Guyton 11, Delfino 27.