For Gran Canaria and Turk Telekom, it's time to prove their worth / News - Basketnews.com

Gran Canaria and Turk Telekom Ankara will face each other in the EuroCup final for a spot in the EuroLeague. Both teams have the chance to change the trend we saw in recent years, with only really rich teams coming up from EuroCup.

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As the EuroLeague playoffs are in full swing and we prepare to figure out who will be the teams that advance to the Final Four in Kaunas, another significant event for the European basketball season is approaching.

3-pointers this season

36%9,6Points made:9,6Accuracy:36,3%Place in standings:8Record max:16Record min:6Most made 3FGs:Axel BouteilleTeamEuroCupStatisticsSchedule

On Wednesday night, the EuroCup final will be staged in which the Spaniards of Gran Canaria and the Turks of Turk Telekom Ankara will compete for a spot in the upcoming EuroLeague season, as well as the title of EuroCup champions.

In the last edition, Virtus Bolognawon the championship title and the Euroleague pass, overcoming Bursaspor in the final.

Despite the absence of several big names such as Virtus, Partizan Belgrade, and Valencia this season, the EuroCup still guaranteed spectacle and excitement, highlighting several players who could make a further leap up the ladder during the offseason.

Gran Canaria will play the final at home, given the best record during the regular season. Jaka Lakovic's team suffered only 3 defeats during the regular season and came into the playoffs with the odds stacked against them.

In the Round of 16, the Spaniards had overcome last season's finalists, Bursaspor. In the quarterfinals, Gran Canaria decisively overcame Paris Basketball, finishing with a lead of as many as 30 points.

In the semifinals, Lakovic's team overcame Badalona in a very intense Spanish derby, which ended with a score of 89-86. For Gran Canaria, this will be the first European final since 2015 when, also in EuroCup, they lost against Khimki.

It is not hard to see why Gran Canaria has gone all the way to the final stage of the competition this season. Lakovic and his staff have done an excellent job setting up a perfectly balanced team capable of being extremely effective offensively and defensively.

Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas / Schedule

Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas Joventut Badalona89-86 Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas Turk Telekom AnkaraWed19:00

Looking at the numbers, Gran Canaria, in this EuroCup season, is the second-best offensive team with an offensive rating of 117.6 points per 100 possessions and has the fourth-best defense with a defensive rating of 106.7 points per 100 possessions.

Gran Canaria is not the kind of team with an absolute superstar on whom all the attention of opposing defenses is focused but makes the strength of the collective its main quality.

Their best scorer so far has been John Shurna, the American power forward with a Lithuanian passport, averaging 11.4 points per game and shooting almost 48% from three-point.

However, Shurna is just one of the dangers Gran Canaria's opponents must fear. There are two players in the backcourt with tremendous experience and leadership, like Slaughter and Albicy.

In the small forward role, there's a crystal clear talent Nicolas Brussino, who has often been decisive for Lakovic's team this season. Under the basket, we have the trio of Inglis, Balcerowski, and Diop, providing physicality, athleticism, and rebounding presence.

Balcerowski was named the Rising Star of the competition for the second year in a row after averaging 8.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.0 block per game. Such various solutions make Gran Canaria a tough team to face.

If the Spaniards have lost only 3 games in the entire EuroCup season, it is precisely because every time, the opponents manage to limit one of their strengths.

Since his arrival in Gran Canaria, Lakovic has always said he wanted to build a strong collective, and this quality is undoubtedly present in the Spanish team.

The Slovenian coach's work has been rewarded with a contract renewal until 2025. Prior to the contract extension with Gran Canaria, Lakovic's name was mentioned as a possible replacement for Sarunas Jasikevicius in Barcelona.

In an interview with the official EuroCup website, Balcerowski stressed how important it would be for the whole environment to be able to lift the trophy.

"For me personally, it would be the biggest achievement, I think, in my career, only because I stayed so many years here in Gran Canaria," Balcerwoski said. "It feels like home for me."

"So going from the kid to winning such an important trophy, and being that big part of a team and helping the team like I'm doing this year, it would be, like I said, the biggest achievement in my career until now.

And I think it's the same for the club and the fans. It is going to be one of the biggest achievements that the club has," the Polish big man explained.

If Gran Canaria was considered one of the favorites to win the EuroCup since the beginning of the season, the same could not be said about Turk Telekom.

The Turkish team had completely revolutionized the roster last summer and assigned the bench to Erdem Can, who, for many years, was an assistant to Zeljko Obradovic at Fenerbahce.

He also recently returned from the United States after his experience as an assistant coach at the Utah Jazz.

Placed in the same Group B as Gran Canaria during the regular season, with other good teams such as Paris Basketball, Buducnost, Promitheas, and Hapoel Tel Aviv, Can's team went far beyond their wildest expectations, finishing the regular season in second place, behind only Gran Canaria.

Ankara is also having an impressive season in the Turkish league. Turk Telekom lead the standings, being ahead of powerhouses like Fenerbahce and Anadolu Efes.

If Gran Canaria makes the collective its main strength, with Ankara, it is easier to identify the stars of the team who play a key role for the Turkish team.

Jerian Grant, after a season of ups and downs in Milan, turned out to be a very timely purchase for the Turkish club.

Jerami's brother was absolutely impressive, and for his performances, he was included in the All-EuroCup first team and named MVP of the competition.

The American player is averaging 14.8 points, 6.2 assists, 3 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game.

Can has put Grant at the center of his offense, making him play a lot of pick-and-roll situations, and has also taken advantage of his defensive qualities. Due to his size and lateral movement speed, Grant can stay in front of almost all of his opponents.

Can's excellent work has also been recognized and appreciated by his colleagues, who elected him EuroCup Coach of The Year.

French wing Axel Bouteille and American big man Tyrique Jones have also been key pieces in the great season that Turk Telekom is experiencing. Bouteille was also selected as part of the All-EuroCup First team.

The French forward is the team's top scorer with 18 points per game, and he's a superb shooter from deep. When the team is in need, they know they can always rely on Bouteille to find some much-needed points.

After a solid year in Pesaro, Jones is showcasing his talent at a higher level. His energy and athleticism are all over the place, and pretty much everyone is convinced that the player is ready for the next career step: EuroLeague basketball.

In a recent interview, Bayern Munich head coach Andrea Trinchieri described Jones as "the best player outside of EuroLeague at the moment."

Considering what Gran Canaria and Ankara have done so far, it is not wrong to say that the two strongest teams have made it to the final. The consistency and continuity shown by these two clubs certainly deserve the biggest stage of the competition.

Now it only remains to be seen who will lift the trophy and earn their place in the next edition of the EuroLeague.

On paper, and because of the home factor, Gran Canaria seems to be the favorite, but throughout the season, Turk Telekom has been able to surprise and has had the ability to take back games that seemed lost.

They have the potential to pull an upset in the most important game of their recent history.

After having seen in recent years teams coming from the EuroCup that were almost obliged to win, also thanks to a budget clearly superior to the rest of the competition (Virtus Bologna, Valencia, Darussafaka), it'll be interesting to see a reality arrive in the EuroLeague that will present itself at the starting blocks of the competition with the profile of a real outsider.

Gran Canaria or Turk Telekom, both are ready to change the trend and bring a breath of fresh air.

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