Galatasaray women claim European basketball trophy

VENICE

Galatasaray claimed its second EuroCup Women title on April 18, defeating Reyer Venezia 155-140 on aggregate.

Following a 90-68 win in Istanbul a week earlier, Galatasaray - which began its 2017-18 European campaign in the EuroLeague Women Regular Season - was firmly in control going into the return leg in Venice.

Reyer Venezia, which had overturned a 20-point deficit in the semifinals, believed it could cause another upset, but a resolute Galatasaray side would not allow the home side’s lead to grow to more than 12 points, as the Venetians came up short despite winning 72-65 on the night.

The victory marks Galatasaray’s second success in Eurocup Women, having won its initial title back in 2009 - the first time a Turkish women’s club won a European title.

The team followed that up with the Euroleague Women crown in 2014.

Galatasaray center Gintare Petronyte, who shone on the court with 19 points and 13 rebounds, highlighted the club’s supporters’ role in the success.

“I am so proud and it is special to do it in front of the travelling Galatasaray fans who always follow us wherever we go,” Petronyte said after the game.

“They showed what it means to them in that first leg when we had such a big crowd to help us get the big win. I am so happy even though we lost this second game. We were focused on winning, but what is most important is that we won a title for this great club and its supporters,” she added.

Team captain Işıl Alben was delighted to have lifted her third European trophy with the club.

“We had difficult times at the beginning of the season, but led by our coach [Marina] Maljkovic, we’ve never given up,” Alben said, also thanking the fans for the support throughout the season.