MUNICH (Germany) - 45 teams entered the sixth edition of the FIBA Europe Cup, and now just two teams remain in the battle to be crowned 2021-22 champions.

Bahcesehir College of Turkey take on Italian side Unahotels Reggio Emilia with the winner decided over two legs in an aggregate format. Both teams are competing in the FIBA Europe Cup Final for the first time.

When are the games being played?

The first leg takes place on Wednesday, April 20 at the Unipol Arena in Bologna at 20:30 CET before the second leg heads to Istanbul on Wednesday, April 27 at 19:00 CET.

Road to the Final

Bahcesehir opened their campaign with six wins from six in the Regular Season before following that with a 5-1 record in the Second Round to advance to the Play-Offs with their only loss coming against Avtodor Saratov.

They edged past Sporting CP in the first leg of the Quarter-Finals before completing a 15-point aggregate victory and then defeated ZZ Leiden in both legs of the Semi-Finals to advance in a 167-153 overall triumph.

Reggio Emilia: Reggio Emilia came through a tough opening group with a 4-2 record, but sailed through the Second Round stage as group winners with five wins from their six games - their only defeat was a 42-point loss at Telenet Giants Antwerp.

They were taken to overtime by Legia Warszawa in the Quarter-Finals, but prevailed in the extra period to take an 80-75 second leg victory and advance. The Italian side then had to overturn a first leg deficit against Bakken Bears with a 20-point success on home soil.

Home advantage?

Both teams will get to play in front of their fans in the Final as they look to make the most of home advantage. But how have they fared at home this season?

Bahcesehir have a perfect 8-0 record in FIBA Europe Cup home games this season with their last loss at home in the competition coming against Pinar Karsiyaka in January, 2020.

Meanwhile, Reggio Emilia are also unbeaten at home this season with eight wins out of eight - including a forfeited result - with all four of their defeats coming on the road.

Leading the way

Jamar Smith has a reputation for stepping up when it matters in European competition; winning a title with Spanish side Unicaja Malaga in 2017. The American guard leads Bahcesehir in scoring with 15.3 points per game as well as adding 5.1 assists.

Mid-season addition Sam Dekker is the team's leading rebounder with 7.4 per game, while Langston Hall is handing out 5.4 assists per outing.

Italian guard Andrea Cinciarini is the tournament's leader in assists with 10.2 per game this season. The 35-year-old tied the FIBA Europe Cup record with 18 assists in the Semi-Finals second leg and has dished out at least 13+ assists in five consecutive games.

Osvaldas Olisevicius tops the team's scoring charts with 12.4 points per game with Mikael Hopkins averaging 11.7 points as well as a team-best 6.7 rebounds per game.

Two years in waiting

It's been a long time coming for Bahcesehir to continue what they started in the 2019-20 season. The Turkish side made it to the Semi-Finals before the season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Upon their return to the competition, they have gone a step further by becoming the first team from Turkey to reach the final and are now 80 minutes from the title.

That's amore

Italian sides have a great love affair with the FIBA Europe Cup with Reggio Emilia becoming the fifth side to reach the final. Varese were beaten finalists in the inaugural 2015-16 season before Umana Reyer Venezia defeated compatriots Sidigas Avelino two years later. Dinamo Sassari then followed suit by winning the 2018-19 edition.

Reggio Emilia have held European silverware aloft previously having won the EuroChallenge title back in 2014.

FIBA