Hapoel Tel Aviv faces Gran Canaria in the EuroCup finals on Tuesday night, with the victor earning a coveted spot in the Euroleague for the 2025/26 season.
The best-of-three series begins at the Reds’ “home” in Samokov, Bulgaria, due to the ongoing security situation in Israel. Game 2 will take place in the Canary Islands on Friday night, with Game 3, if necessary, back in Bulgaria on Wednesday, April 16.
Ahead of Game 1, Hapoel Tel Aviv coach Dimitrios Itoudis spoke about the challenge at hand, what he sees as Gran Canaria’s strengths, his thoughts on playing a series versus a Final Four, and how excited he is to get the finals underway – emphasizing the players’ need to be committed to the task at hand.
“It’s exciting because a final is a final. When you play in a competition and reach the final, it’s exciting,” said the 54-year-old Greek tactician. “We are at the point where you have to have the instincts of survival. There’s not much to say – you go over there and you survive. You give something to your teammates and the fans, either if you play a minute or 40 minutes.”
While Hapoel convincingly defeated Gran Canaria twice during the regular season, Itoudis views this series as an entirely different challenge and in no way considers his team the favorite.
“I don’t know, as I don’t want to use the words as to who is the favorite. I can use it based on the numbers. Whoever reaches the finals wants to win the title. We are playing on the road, and our home is the road this year, but we are very excited and very focused on what can be accomplished. We don’t want to do any comparison to the games we played against them in the regular season. This is a completely different story, and we want to go possession by possession to win.”
As for Gran Canaria itself, Itoudis is well aware that any ACB club is going to be a tough out – especially after just having eliminated Valencia 2–1 in the semifinals.
“They won the EuroCup in 2023; multiple times they are competing at the highest levels. They have the same roster and coaching staff and have chemistry. They have big targets, and they want to compete in the Euroleague."
“They won against Hapoel Jerusalem on the road as well as at Bahcesehir. They have size, scorers, creators, and big bodies that can spread the floor. They seek to punish you, and they have ACB experience and experienced players and staff in this competition. They want to go and compete. But we had a series of wins and historical wins for this club, and we are in the process of building. The injuries [that we suffered] came at a bad moment, but we believe in our work. We are going to Samokov with our fans, and we will fight.”
The fans filled the arena in Samokov for Game 2 of the semifinal series, and Itoudis is hoping that will once again be the case.
“The fans are important, and I hope they will come in big numbers and fill the gym. It’s different, as you feel the passion and you feel the rhythm, and it helps a lot.”
'In favor of a playoff system'
Itoudis has participated in many Euroleague Final Fours over the course of his career, including having won the Euroleague title twice as a head coach. But when it comes down to the game of basketball itself, he prefers having a series rather than a one-game, win-or-you’re-out scenario.
“Playoffs – basketball is playoffs. We have had two semifinals that were both played to Game 3, and they were very exciting, and I believe that the Euroleague needs to consider that for sure. I am in favor of a playoff system, even though I have been in 14 Final Fours, and I have huge respect for this organization and the Final Four. But I believe that basketball equals playoffs.”
Of course, with a ticket to the continent’s premier competition on the line, Itoudis on one hand knows that this is the ultimate goal, but is also aware that he just arrived in Israel to coach Hapoel and that the club is going through a process.
“Euroleague is [the] Euroleague. There are many, many great players and many, many great coaches and organizations and brand names. I have been around, to be with the players and coaching staffs, to be in 14 Final Fours. We came over here to build something, and we are still in the process. We are happy that in the first year we reached the final. Both teams wish to compete in the Euroleague. But let’s go step by step. This is a series of three games, and we will approach the first game as one that is unique, and we will see from there.”
