May 19, 2013
2001-02 Euroleague, phase by phase
Seasons

Panathinaikos became the 2002 Euroleague champions by edging Kinder Bologna 83-89 on its own court in arguably one of the best finals in European club competitions history. Panathinaikos lifted its third continental crown as coach Zeljko Obradovic becomes the winningest coach in Europe with five Euroleague titles. It was also the third title for Panathinaikos legend Fragiskos Alvertis, that had previously won the competition in 1996 and 2000. Ibrahim Kutluay led the winners with 22 points. Dejan Bodiroga earnt Final Four MVP honours with 21 points while Lazaros Papadopoulos had 12 in an outstanding performance. Manu Ginobili led Kinder with 27 points. Matjaz Smodis added 23 for the exiting Euroleague champions. Panathinaikos rallied from a 14-point deficit behind an outstanding Papadopoulos and cruised to an impressing win. In the semifinals, Kinder had downed Benetton 90-82 behind 18 points from Marco Jaric, that led 5 players in double digits. Panathinaikos sealed its ticket to the final with a 83-75 him against Maccabi Elite. Bodiroga paced the Greens with 26 points and 9 rebounds.

REGULAR SEASON
TOP 16
FINAL FOUR
Dejan Bodiroga lifts 2001 trophy for Greens!
 EUROLEAGUE FINAL: KINDER BOLOGNA VS. PANATHINAIKOS
The Euroleague had a new champion, and it was none other than Panathinaikos! The Greens triumphed 83-89 over Kinder Bologna on its own court in the Euroleague Final in a thriller that should go down as one of the great title games in history. By coming back from 14 points down against Kinder at PalaMalaguti in Bologna, Panathinaikos collected its third Euroleague title in seven years. Head coach Zeljko Obradovic rose to the status of coaching legend, winning his fifth title with four different clubs. After a Kinder second-quarter burst that gave rise to euphoria in the local crowd, Panathinaikos worked its way back into the game. Center Lazaros Papadopoulos was the catalyst of the comeback, but in the second half veterans Dejan Bodiroga and Ibrahim Kutluay took over. Kutluay finished with 22 points for the new champions, Bodiroga had 21 and Papadopoulos 12. Kinder was led by Emanuel Ginobili with 27 points and Matjaz Smodis with 13.
Marko Jaric - Kinder Bologna - FF Bologna 2002
 SEMIFINAL: KINDER BOLOGNA VS. BENETTON BASKET
Kinder Bologna earned the chance to defend its Euroleague title in the final after having dispatched Benetton Treviso with a 82-90 victory at home in PalaMalaguti in the semifinals. Kinder had the chance to become the first team since Jugoplastika more than a decade ago to repeat as Euroleague champion against Panathinaikos, an 83-75 winner over Maccabi in Friday's first semifinal. Kinder broke open a tie game with a scorching run of 10-0 to open the fourth quarter. Kinder's inside scoring strength combined with perimeter defense turned up to high heat just overwhelmed Benetton, which could not score for almost 5 minutes after having been tied 63-63 entering after three quarters. Marko Jaric was Kinder's driving force all night, scoring 18 points to lead Kinder. David Andersen finished with 15 points, Emanuel Ginobili and Sani Becirovic 14 each and Rashard Griffith 13. Tyus Edney and Charlie Bell led Benetton with 19 points each.
Dejan Bodiroga - Panathinaikos - FF Bologna 2002
 SEMIFINAL: PANATHINAIKOS VS. MACCABI ELITE
Panathinaikos got the chance to play for the Euroleague title after downing iMaccabi Tel Aviv in the first semifinal of the Final Four by 83-75 behind the fourth-quarter heroics of a certain Top 16 MVP named Dejan Bodiroga. The Greens earned the chance to go for their third Euroleague crown against defending champion Kinder Bologna. Bodiroga gave Panathinaikos control of a back-and-forth battle in the late third and early fourth quarter, scoring 12 consecutive points for the Greens to restore the moderate leads they had enjoyed earlier in the game. Bodiroga finished with 27 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals, while the inside duo of Darryl Middleton and Lazaros Papadopoulos combined for 24 points to negate what was supposed to be Maccabi's superior inside game. The Greens had also put on a first-quarter three-point shooting display, 5 for 5 from behind the arc. Maccabi's top scorer was Tal Burstein with 16 points off the bench.
FINAL FOUR
May 3-5, 2002
SEMIFINAL 1
panathinaikos
Panathinaikos 83
Maccabi Elite 75
maccabi
SEMIFINAL 2
Virtus Bologna
Kinder Bologna 90
Benetton Basket 82
Benetton Treviso
FINAL
Virtus Bologna
Kinder Bologna 83
Panathinaikos 89
panathinaikos

Submenu