VILNIUS (AA) – Media coverage throughout Europe on Thursday was full of praise for Galatasaray Odeabank winning its first European men’s basketball title.
Istanbul’s Galatasaray Odeabank defeated France’s Strasbourg team 78-67 late Wednesday in the second leg of the final played at the Abdi Ipekci Sports Hall in Istanbul.
The Lithuanian press covered the Istanbul club’s victory in the ULEB Eurocup extensively.
The Eurocup is Europe’s second-tier international level professional basketball competition.
Lithuanian sports website Krepsinis praised the Turkish team’s triumph saying “Galatasaray Odeabank becomes the new king of Eurocup”.
Meanwhile, the Lietuvos Rytas newspaper, also from Lithuania stated: “Galatasaray Odeabank is off to Turkish Airlines Euroleague.”
Lithuania’s DELFI English news portal said: “Galatasaray Odeabank claimed the cup and Turkish Airlines Euroleague ticket by beating the French”.
French media generally praised the Turkish club’s victory, acknowledging Galatasaray Odeabank’s superior play.
Leading sports newspaper in France, L’Equipe, commented on the overwhelming atmosphere on Galatasaray Odeabank’s home court saying: “This is a volcano, it should be extinguished immediately.”
“Galatasaray Odeabank woke Strasbourg from the title dream in the final,” added daily Le Figaro.
Galatasaray Odeabank have now earned the right to play in the 2016-17 Turkish Airlines Euroleague which is the Europe’s international top tier basketball tournament.
Last week in Strasbourg, the French team had defeated Galatasaray 66-62 in the first leg of the two final matches.
– Turkish basketball’s fifth European cup
Galatasaray Odeabank’s recent triumph in the Eurocup represents Turkish basketball’s fifth European trophy in club-level tournaments.
Galatasaray have claimed their third European title in basketball so far as the club’s women’s basketball team won two international titles in 2009 and 2014.
Anadolu Efes, which is also based in Istanbul, won the FIBA Korac Cup in 1996. It was the first time that a Turkish basketball club won a European title.
The Korac Cup tournament ceased to exist in 2002.
In 2012, the Besiktas men’s basketball team went down in history by winning the FIBA EuroChallenge Cup.
The EuroChallenge was the third tier-level basketball competition in Europe. The FIBA Europe Cup — established in 2015 — replaced it.
