Telekom Baskets Bonn made history, winning their first BCL title. The German side overcame Hapoel Jerusalem 77-70 in Malaga, as TJ Shorts poured in 29 points.
Telekom Baskets Bonn put the exclamation mark next to a dream-like season. The German BBL leaders downed Hapoel Jerusalem 77-70 (14-7, 23-21, 20-27, 20-15) in the FIBA Basketball Champions League final game held in Martin Carpena, Malaga in front of almost 10,400 fans.
| Player of the Game | |
|
EFF
21
|
| TJ Shorts II | |
| Points | 29 |
| Accuracy | 10-17 |
| Rebounds | 1 |
| Assists | 3 |
Bonn thus became the fourth German team to win a European trophy after ALBA Berlin (1995 Korac Cup), Gottingen (2010 EuroChallenge), and the Frankfurt Skyliners (2016 FIBA Europe Cup). Jerusalem didn't manage to lift their second continental title after the 2003 EuroCup title.
Bonn also became the BCL's fifth champion after Lenovo Tenerife (2 titles), AEK Athens, Virtus Bologna and San Pablo Burgos (2 titles). They won the 1-million euro prize allocated to the winning team.
BCL MVP TJ Shorts deservedly won himself another accolade, the Final Four MVP award. The American guard scored a game-high 29 points on 10/17 FG, 3/3 3-point shooting, 6/8 FT and 3 assists for a PIR of 23. Javontae Hawkins added 13 for Tuomas Iisalo's side, Sebastian Herrera had 11 on 3/10 from downtown, and Tyson Ward 8.
On the other end, Levi Randolph was battling it out almost all alone. The American guard scored 27 points (7/15 FG, 11/13 FT) and grabbed 6 rebounds. Mareks Mejeris was the only other Jerusalem player in double digits with 12 points (5/7 FG) and 6 rebounds.
Bonn got off to an impressive start in the game. Thanks to TJ Shorts' 12 points on 5/5 FG after 14 minutes, the German side took a 13-point lead (27-12). On the other hand, Jerusalem were unable to connect from distance (1/10) and had to rely on their (5) offensive rebounds to stay in the game.
Levi Randolph and Oz Blayzer helped Hapoel to cut down the deficit to single digits (30-24). Two straight daggers by Sebastian Herrera and Finn Delany brought Bonn back in charge. Pumped by their 3,000 rowdy fans, Jerusalem bounced back for good in the third quarter. TJ Shorts stayed on the bench for several minutes to catch a breath, as Randolph and Mareks Mejeris kept scoring.
The Israeli side came within one (46-45), before Herrera connected again from behind the arc. Shorts made Bonn feel more comfortable, as the American guard was simply unstoppable in isolation. The BCL MVP scored seven points in four minutes, increasing his team's advantage to eight (66-58).
Hapoel didn't give up. Levi Randolph tried to keep it close, but Bonn were defensively solid in the closing minutes, holding on to their lead. Shorts was there whenever needed to provide some scoring and secure the big win.
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