Bologna, March 16 –
The Adidas Next Gen Euroleague weekend came to a close yesterday at the Paladozza, which hosted the qualifying tournament for the Next Gen Euroleague Final Four from Friday through Sunday. A total of sixteen games were played, with eight teams divided into two groups.
The title went to Barcelona, which defeated Baskonia 88-53 in a one-sided final. The tournament MVP was Barcelona’s Joquim Boumtje Boumtje, who finished the tournament averaging 18.8 points and 8.5 rebounds. Trento claimed third place, defeating the Adidas Next Gen team in the third-place game. In addition to Boumtje Boumtje, the tournament’s All-Tournament Team included Nikola Kusturica, another Barcelona player, Stefan Joksimovic of Baskonia, Mansour Bayo, a big man from Trento, and Livio Berlingeri of Virtus Emilia Banca Bologna.
Special recognition goes to Berlingeri (averaging 22.2 points, the tournament’s second-leading scorer), who, along with his teammates, led Virtus to fifth place in the competition following two victories against Panathinaikos and Bayern Munich.
It was also a great weekend for basketball in terms of attendance: over 50 NBA scouts and more than 4,500 total spectators over the three days of games, averaging 1,500 spectators per day. Yet another sign that Bologna is a city that loves basketball and didn’t want to miss a single game of this tournament, an important European showcase for the champions of the future.
