2023 Basketball Champions League Final Four

The 2023 Basketball Champions League (BCL) Final Four was the 7th Basketball Champions League tournament and the 5th in the format of Final Four. It was the concluding phase of the 2022–23 Basketball Champions League season.

2023 Basketball Champions League Final Four
Season2022–23 season
Tournament details
ArenaPalacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena
Málaga, Spain
Dates12–14 May 2023
Final positions
ChampionsGermany Telekom Baskets Bonn (1st title)
Runners-upIsrael Hapoel Jerusalem
Third placeSpain Lenovo Tenerife
Fourth placeSpain Unicaja
Awards and statistics
MVPT. J. Shorts (Telekom Baskets Bonn)
Top scorer(s)T. J. Shorts (Telekom Baskets Bonn) – 50 points
Attendance42,741 (10,683 per game)
2022
2024

It was the first time the tournament was held in Málaga.[1] The championship was won by Telekom Baskets Bonn, who became the first German BCL champions.[2][3] They defeated runners-up Hapoel Jerusalem in the final. Lenovo Tenerife finished in third place, Unicaja in fourth place.

Telekom Baskets guard T. J. Shorts won the Final Four MVP award, becoming the first player in league history to win both the season MVP and Final Four MVP award in the same season. He scored 50 points in his two games, setting a new record for most points by a player, formerly held by Kevin Punter (2018).[4] Shorts also set a record for most points in both a final four game by scoring 29 points in the final.[5][3]

Venue

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The Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena hosted the final tournament for the first time.[6][7]

Málaga
2023 Basketball Champions League Final Four (Europe)
Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena
Capacity: 11,300
 

Teams

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Team Previous final tournament appearances[a]
  Lenovo Tenerife 5 (2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
  Hapoel Jerusalem 1 (2020)
  Telekom Baskets Bonn 0 (debut)
  Unicaja 0 (debut)

Draw

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The 2023 Basketball Champions League Final Four was drawn on April 25, 2023, at Museo Picasso in Malaga.[8][9]

Bracket

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SemifinalsFinal
 
      
 
12 May
 
 
  Unicaja67
 
14 May
 
  Telekom Baskets Bonn69
 
  Telekom Baskets Bonn77
 
12 May
 
  Hapoel Jerusalem70
 
  Lenovo Tenerife68
 
 
  Hapoel Jerusalem69
 
Third place game
 
 
14 May
 
 
  Unicaja79
 
 
  Lenovo Tenerife84

Semifinals

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12 May 2022 Lenovo Tenerife   68–69   Hapoel Jerusalem Málaga
17:30 Scoring by quarter: 18–15, 12–19, 12–18, 26–17
Pts: Huertas 20
Rebs: Shermadini 6
Asts: Salin 4
Eff: Huertas 25
Boxscore Pts: Carrington 19
Rebs: Hankins 6
Asts: Smith 5
Eff: Vene 17
Arena: Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena
Attendance: 11,000[10]
Referees: Manuel Mazzoni, Ademir Zurapović, Martins Kozlovskis
12 May 2022 Unicaja   67–69   Telekom Baskets Bonn Málaga
20:30 Scoring by quarter: 22–22, 9–19, 19–16, 17–12
Pts: three players 12
Rebs: Ejim 8
Asts: Perry 7
Eff: Ejim 17
Boxscore Pts: Shorts 21
Rebs: Ward 7
Asts: Shorts 7
Eff: Shorts 17
Arena: Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena
Attendance: 11,000[10]
Referees: Yohan Rosso, Wojciech Liszka, Boris Krejić

Third place game

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14 May 2023 Unicaja   79–84   Lenovo Tenerife Málaga
17:30 Scoring by quarter: 29–31, 9–22, 14–13, 27–18
Pts: Perry 22
Rebs: Kravish 8
Asts: Perry 3
Eff: Perry 22
Boxscore Pts: Shermadini, Fernández 12
Rebs: Doornekamp 6
Asts: Huertas 8
Eff: Shermadini 17
Arena: Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena
Attendance: 8,941[10]
Referees: Wojciech Liszka, Gatis Salins, Kerem Baki

Final

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14 May 2023 Telekom Baskets Bonn   77–70   Hapoel Jerusalem Málaga
20:00 Scoring by quarter: 14–7, 23–21, 20–27, 20–15
Pts: Shorts 29
Rebs: Kratzer, Malcolm 6
Asts: Shorts 3
Eff: Shorts 23
Boxscore Pts: Randolph 27
Rebs: Hankins 10
Asts: Smith 5
Eff: Randolph 22
Arena: Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena
Attendance: 11,800[10]
Referees: Manuel Mazzoni, Yohan Rosso, Boris Krejić

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Both Final Four and Final Eight tournaments.

References

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  1. ^ "Malaga selected to host the Basketball Champions League Final Four". Champions League Basketball. April 20, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  2. ^ "Telekom Baskets Bonn become first German club to win BCL crown as Shorts earns Final Four MVP award". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
  3. ^ a b "Telekom Baskets Bonn celebrate their first Basketball Champions League title". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
  4. ^ "On another level: Record-breaking TJ Shorts wins Final Four MVP award". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
  5. ^ "The Final Four by the numbers: which records can be broken in Belgrade?". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  6. ^ "Malaga to host the Basketball Champions League Final Four". Eurohoops. April 20, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  7. ^ "BCL Dörtlü Finali'nin ev sahibi Malaga" (in Turkish). basketfaul. April 20, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  8. ^ "Basketball Champions League Final Four matchups confirmed". basketnews. April 25, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  9. ^ "The 2023 Basketball Champions League Final Four pairings revealed". Eurohoops. April 25, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d "Basketball Champions League 2023 Tournament Summary" (PDF). FIBA Competitions Reports.
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