BILBAO (Spain) - Surne Bilbao Basket made FIBA Europe Cup history by successfully defending their title in a thrilling Finals encounter with PAOK BC.
The Spanish side are the first club to win the competition for a second time, as they repeated last season's success with a 89-74 triumph at home on Wednesday to seal an overall 162-153 triumph.
The two teams had also met in last season's Finals when Bilbao prevailed by five points on aggregate to lift the title in Thessaloniki.
PAOK secured a 79-73 victory in the Finals opener, and still had the overall lead in the tie at half-time down 43-41 in the second leg. However, Bilbao used a strong third period to take control and were able to celebrate the title win in front of a sold-out crowd.
Darrun Hilliard earned the Finals MVP accolade with averages of 17.5 points and 3.5 assists across the two legs, including 16 points and 5 assists in the second leg.
PAOK had been aiming to become the first Greek club to win the competition, and secure a first European title in more than three decades, but came up short for a successive season.
It meant more history for Bilbao as they are also the first team to win the Finals after losing the first leg, and now stand alone as the competition's first team to win multiple titles.
###
About FIBA Europe Cup For further information about the FIBA Europe Cup, visit the official website or follow us on X, Instagram and YouTube.