On This Day, 2001: Virtus becomes first champion of a new era

On this day 19 years ago, the modern era EuroLeague crowned its first champion when Virtus Bologna, then known as Kinder, defeated Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, then Tau Ceramica, 82-74 in the fifth-and-deciding game of the best-of-five finals series in Bologna, Italy.

The start of a new era
In the summer of 2000, the new EuroLeague was created. It was a new competition run by the clubs and due to the conflict it generated with FIBA at the time, it meant that two parallel competitions would separate the best teams in the continent. A total of 24 teams started the regular season in October of 2000 with an opening game in Madrid between Real and Olympiacos Piraeus. As they say, the rest is history.

The buildup
A total of 16 teams made their way into the eighthfinals and from all those squads, two survived until the best-of-five final series: Virtus and Baskonia. The first two games of the series were played in Italy, with Baskonia hitting first and then Virtus tying the series at 1-1 before traveling to Spain. In Vitoria, Virtus rolled in Game 3 but then again, Baskonia came back in Game 4, setting the stage for a fifth-and-final game that would be played back at Palamalaguti in Basket City.

Game flow
The first quarter was as close as they come, but in the next 20 minutes, Virtus managed to build a small lead that was just enough to allow it to survive a Baskonia comeback in the fourth quarter. Virtus had posted the EuroLeague’s best regular-season record, 9-1, and outdid itself with an 11-2 run against four elite opponents in the playoffs to claim the title under Coach Ettore Messina. Manu Ginobili was named MVP of the finals. Antoine Rigaudeau led the winners with 18 points, while Ginobili and Marko Jaric posted 16 apiece. For Baskonia, Elmer Bennett netted 24 points in defeat.

What happened next
This was the last big success to date for Virtus at the European level. The team would play two more seasons in the EuroLeague, but never got as far and then suffered financial problems that caused the team to struggle. The EuroLeague moved back to the Final Four format and the 2001 Finals remain the only ones played as a series. Baskonia would grow as a team and become one of the serious title contenders in the following years with several Final Four appearances, but the team has yet to claim the title to this day.