Although next month marks the first time that they will see a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion crowned in their city, fans in Vitoria-Gasteiz fact witnessed everything short of that moment when their club was a continental finalist almost 20 years ago in the competition's first edition under Euroleague Basketball.

The best-of-five finals series held at the end of that 2000-01 season to decide the continental club champion was truly unique. Two games decided the title from 1958 to 1965, and since then there has been a single, do-or-die championship game every year – except in 2001.

To those who witnessed it, that best-of-five series between Tau Ceramica of Vitoria and Kinder Bologna of Italy in the spring of 2001 is unforgettable.

"The ambition within the club was building and we made our reputation that year."

Start with the incredible array of talent on both teams, names like Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola, Matjaz Smodis, Saulius Stombergas, Antoine Rigaudeau, Fabricio Oberto, Marko Jaric – and the list goes on.

Finish with the fact that the series went the distance to do-or-die Game 5 after the road teams won the first game in each city. All four results prior to the title-deciding fifth game were by double-digits, too, meaning that it was impossible to say which team was better until Game 5 decided it.

The player at the heart of Tau's efforts to upset Kinder was point guard Elmer Bennett, who spent six seasons of his 16-year pro career in Vitoria. Bennett played the most minutes in the series and tied for the most points with Ginobili and teammate Victor Alexander.

"We were a confident bunch with a lot of good talent and a very good coach in Dusko Ivanovic," Bennett says. "Just because we didn't have big historic names, didn't mean we weren't very ambitious. It was the ambition of Josean Querejeta and all the club directors. They wanted to become a big team and always be aspirants for titles. The ambition within the club was building and we made our reputation that year."

"Winning several times on the road gave us confidence going into hostile environments."

Kinder came in as favorites with a 16-1 record, including 7-0 in three previous playoffs sweeps. From October 19 to April 17, Kinder did not lose anywhere – until Tau, also unbeaten in the playoffs, landed in Bologna with a 13-4 overall record.

Game 1 was an absolute stunner.

Tau jumped Kinder with a 30-46 first half and kept the difference in double digits until a 65-78 final score, with Victor Alexander scoring 21 points and ripping 19 rebounds, Laurent Foirest adding 20 points and Bennett hitting 10 of 10 free throws on the way to 15 points.

"We had played two or three Greek teams in the playoffs before that, and winning several times on the road gave us confidence going into hostile environments to get the victory," Bennett says about Game 1. "We knew that Kinder was solid and probably the favorite, but we felt good enough to go in and get a victory at their place."

Kinder reacted in Game 2 as Rigaudeau made 6 of the team's 15 three-pointers and led five double-digit scorers with 23 points in a 94-73 blowout. The series shifted to Vitoria for Game 3, but Kinder kept its momentum as Ginobili now exploded for 27 points in a 60-80 road win to lead the series 2-1.

"In the second game they had a reaction, because if they had gone down 0-2, they would have been in big trouble," Bennett says. "They held court, and in the third game they were very solid and we didn't play as well. Maybe we relaxed at home: that happens."

Next, however, the fans in Vitoria were treated to the team's first and only home win so deep in a EuroLeague season – and it came in do-or-die fashion. Bennett had 19 points and 8 assists, while Alexander and Mindaugas Timinskas each tallied 18 for a 96-79 win to even the series 2-2.

"Game 4, we had our backs against the wall. We were a desperate team, fighting to extend the series, and to do that, we had to play solid from beginning to end," Bennett recalled. "We got things going and they snowballed in the second half, when Timinskas had that spectacular dunk. That dunk was just so aggressive, going right over a big guy."

The series moved back to Bologna, Italy a week later for the fifth and deciding game. Kinder had the home court and the upper hand for most of the game, but Bennett's 8 points in a row cut the difference to 57-52 late in the third quarter. His team would get no closer, however, as Kinder lifted the title on its own floor following an 82-74 victory despite Bennett's game-high 24 points.

"We got to the fifth game playing on fumes, running out of gas," Bennett recalls. "I wish now it had been a one-game series. I felt that Kinder had played better that night. We had nothing to hang our heads about. The only disappointment was missing an opportunity to bring a EuroLeague title to Vitoria. It was a great series between two great teams and I will always remember it. I was disappointed in not winning the EuroLeague title, but I enjoyed our effort."

"Vitoria will always hold a very big place in my heart."

Bennett, who lives in the United States now and has dabbled in coaching since he stopped playing, returned to Vitoria in 2017 for a 15th anniversary celebration of the team's Spanish League and Spanish Cup double title in 2002, one year after those EuroLeague finals. A year after that, Bennett completed his six-year stint in Vitoria and made stops at Real Madrid and Joventut Badalona before retiring in 2008.

Today, he couldn't be happier that the 2019 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four is coming to a city where his family found a second home.

"It's the first city in Spain that I played in, and I ended up staying six years," Bennett says now. "The team gave me my first opportunity to really plant roots and not continue living out of a suitcase, team to team. Both my kids were born there, which makes them Vitorianos. It was glorious. Vitoria will always hold a very big place in my heart."