CSKA Moscow were crowned European champions for the sixth time after beating Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv 91-77 in the Euroleague final.
Final MVP Trajan Langdon top scored for the Russians, who were appearing in their third consecutive final, with 21 points while Jon Robert Holden weighed in with 14.
Will Bynum’s game-high 23 points failed to stop Maccabi slipping to a defeat in a re-run of their 2006 final loss to CSKA in Prague.
Roared on by the event’s largest contingent of travelling supporters Maccabi felt like the home side in Madrid, but it was CSKA who lead by a point at the end of the first and second quarters.
Back-to-back three-point shots from guard Holden helped CSKA into a commanding nine-point lead at the start of the third.
Maccabi struggled to cut the deficit and their night was summed up when Alex Garcia, their top scorer in the semi-final victory over Montepaschi Siena, stole the ball from Holden, went coast to coast, and fluffed a two-point lay-up with no one near him.
Maccabi were down 57-63 going into the fourth and a run of ten points without reply from CSKA, with seven from Matjaz Smodis, effectively sealed the game in the period’s first four minutes.
