It was always in the bag for FIBA Europe League champions Dynamo St Petersburg.

At least that's what coach David Blatt believed before his team walked onto the court to play at the Final Four in Istanbul.

BC Kyiv did not capture the FIBA Europe League title their fans had dreamt of but coach Renato Pasquali is anything but downbeat.

The Italian, whose team led 28-18 early in the second quarter on Thursday night before watching Dynamo St Petersburg fight back to claim an 85-74 win in Istanbul, said: "We built a good team this year.

Dynamo St Petersburg took a while to find their rhythm against BC Kyiv in Thursday's FIBA Europe League championship game but once they did, there was no stopping them.

David Blatt's team beat Kyiv 85-74 to capture the title in Istanbul.

Dynamo St Petersburg trailed BC Khimki until late in the third quarter but finally took control to win 92-81 and reach the championship game of the FIBA Europe League.

Playing in Istanbul and looking to remain unbeaten, Dynamo encountered stiff opposition in an all-Russian affair but got their noses in front with just 10 minutes left and pulled away.

BC Kyiv broke the hearts of Fenerbahce fans by beating the FIBA Europe League Final Four hosts 88-72 on Wednesday night to reach the title game.

Kyiv stormed out to an early 17-4 lead and romped to victory.

BC Khimki's Melvin Booker must be the most laid back player in the FIBA Europe League this year.

With an impending Final Four match up against the awesome Russian outfit St Petersburg only one day away - his ice cool veneer has yet to be breached.

At the beginning of the season, Fenerbahce might have been content just to make the play-offs of the FIBA Europe League but as Marc Salyers testifies, all that changed once Istanbul was made hosts of the Final Four.

Fener are making their debut in the FIBA Europe League but have shown no shortcomings, winning Group A before overcoming Hapoel Tel Aviv and Besiktas in the eighth and quarter-finals, respectively, to earn a place in the competition finale.