Khimki crowned Eurocup champions

MOSCOW (Eurocup) - Rimas Kurtinaitis was a great player in his day, one of those talented members of the Soviet Union's Olympic title winning side of 1988 and later a key man for Lithuania.

He's proving to be a pretty good coach, too.

The latest evidence was his performance as BC Khimki boss in this season's Eurocup.

The Russian giants finished off Herbalife Gran Canaria in the second leg of the Finals on Wednesday, winning 83-64 to wrap up a convincing triumph.

In the process, Khimki punched their ticket to next season's Euroleague.

After routing Gran Canaria 91-66 in last week's first leg, Khimki had a stranglehold on the tie and they never gave their opponents a whiff of a comeback.

Kurtinaitis, who has served as assistant coach to Lithuania's national team and is a good bet to lead the side himself one day, was all smiles after the final buzzer on Wednesday.

I want to thank my players for the big effort they put out in both games. - Kurtinaitis

"Game 1 was a perfect one for us," Kurtinaitis said.

"Game 2 was a little bit easier due to the 25-point lead we had from the game in Gran Canaria.

"It was not as complicated as Game 1, but it was not easy to motivate my players to play Game 2.

"It was a great result and defense really made the difference in this series."

Kurtinaitis has now won three Eurocups as a coach.

He led Lietuvos Rytas to the crown in 2009 and also Khimki to glory a few years ago.

Khimki, who also won the competition in 2012, got big contributions from a lot of players this season.

Russia's Sergey Monya and Egor Vyaltsev have had their game-winning moments, as has Finland's Petteri Koponen.

Vyaltsev and Koponen each had 18 points in the first leg when Khimki effectively put the overall result beyond doubt.

The man to scoop the honor as Finals MVP, however, was Tyrese Rice, a member of Maccabi Tel Aviv's Euroleague-title winning side last year.

Rice capped off a terrific campaign in Europe with 16 points.

"We wanted to come here and win and make a statement that we belong here and that we belong in the Euroleague," he said.

They accomplished that mission.

Koponen, meanwhile, has now won the EuroChallenge as a member of Virtus Bologna, and the Eurocup with Khimki.

The possibility of going to the NBA is still there for a player that was drafted several years ago, but the temptation of playing in the Euroleague may be too much to turn down.

It certainly sounded that way after the game.

"I won a couple championships in Finland," he said.

"I won a EuroChallenge, now Eurocup.

"Next step the Euroleague

"It always feels great.

"It’s a long season, long road.

Of 44 teams, we are the best. - Koponen

"And it’s always best to win the championship in front of our great fans."

Koponen will now turn his focus back to the VTB United League.

Khimki will be hoping to beat some very good sides to that title.

Then, after a break, will come the EuroBasket in Montpellier.

Finland will play against hosts France, Poland, Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Israel in Group A.

As for Gran Canaria, their cast of international players will shift their attention back to the Spanish Liga Endesa.

Walter Tavares, the Cape Verde center, had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Australia's Brad Newley poured in 12 points.

"Unfortunately, the last two games didn’t go as planned, but we have to move forward," Newley said.

"It was a great season for the club.

"Now everybody knows who Gran Canaria are and we want to keep it that way."

FIBA