ZARAGOZA (Spain) - Casademont Zaragoza signed off their maiden Final Six appearance on a high after securing Third Place with a nail-biting 66-63 triumph against fellow first-timers Spar Girona.
Both teams had already made history by even qualifying for the event and now Zaragoza can lay claim to being the third best team in Europe after squeezing out their domestic rivals in an absorbing clash.
Turning point
There was little between both teams in a fesity first half, but Zaragoza came out pumped for the third period and outscored their opponents 23-12.
It was built on more aggressive defence and some better transition offense. That got them onto the front foot and gave them the platform and cushion required for victory.
And they needed it, since Girona had three looks from downtown in the last seconds to force overtime, but Zaragoza dodged the bullet.
Game heroes
It was fitting that Carla Leite showed plenty of grit and character having had to leave the Quarter-Final with a nasty facial injury.
She bounced back in style, helping to fill the void left by the absent Helena Pueyo with an excellent contribution. The French guard finished the contest with 20 points and 6 assists.
There was also a nice cameo in the frontcourt of 12 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists from Nadia Fingall, while Klara Holm was outstanding again for Girona in defeat with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 4 dimes.
Stats don't lie
Zaragoza had a very fruitful 17 fast break points compared to just 8 for their opponents.
Meanwhile the usually exceptional Mariam Coulibaly was restricted by Zaragoza to a season low 4 points.
Bottom line
A season that started with drama in the Qualifiers had to finish with drama in this one. It's the Zaragoza way. The crowd was amazing as usual for their favorites and the players used that energy to do the business on the court. Leite was superb, but it was again team basketball and real heart and beleif that fuelled this historic bronze.
There will be nothing but pride for Girona at making the Semi-Finals of the competition for the first time, having never even previously featured at all at the season showpiece. Third place would have been the icing on the cake, but they didn't quite get over the line.
They said
"You don't have many chances to finish a competition winning a game. We did a great job. I think that we gave them the chance to get back into it and it was a crazy end," Carlos Cantero, Casademont Zaragoza
"I am really happy for the team, for the club, for the city and Marea Roja. We deserved that medal. The journey has been hard and we ended up being third in Europe and you can't say that that every day. After every fall, we kept believing and that is what has brought us here - and also Marea Roja, I am not going to lie." Mariona Ortiz, Casademont Zaragoza "Right now it feels tough, but we just need to be very proud of our Final Six. We always end up with tight games with Zaragoza - it is always like this. It sucks that we didn't get the win, but I am very proud." Klara Holm, Spar Girona "For me this is the best season of my career in EuroLeague Women. All the players are rookies and none of them had played here before. I told them in the locker room I am very proud of them. If we had won the game it could be epic. My feeling now is so good. Medals rust and I already have a lot in my house. But what will stay forever is the relationship with these players," Roberto Iniguez, Spar Girona
FIBA