After a history-making career on the hardwood at SHIP, Dustin Sleva '18 is making more history – this time in one of Europe's toughest leagues.
 
Sleva, a star for Spanish club UCAM Murcia, has helped lead the club to its first ever Liga Endesa final and a five-game series against Spanish and European giants Real Madrid beginning Saturday at 2:30 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time).
 
Murcia took an unconventional road to the final, becoming the league's first No. 5 seed to reach the final and by recording all its playoff wins on the road.
 
In the deciding game of the semifinals, a 79-70 win over Unicaja, Sleva led Murcia in minutes played (30:28) and rebounds (7), was second on the team in plus/minus (+15) and chipped in five points.
 
No stranger to success as an underdog, Murcia's fairytale ride through the Liga Endesa playoffs leaves even Sleva in disbelief. Because of the budget differences, Sleva dubbed the final vs. Real Madrid as the Spanish basketball equivalent of a Pirates/Yankees World Series.
 
"It's honestly incredible," Sleva noted. "We beat two teams in a three-game and five-game series that no one thought we would win. Not even a single game. I don't think people back home can grasp what type of accomplishment this is."
 
Sleva has become beloved by the Murcia fans, winning the Liga Endesa Rookie of the Year this season. In 42 league games, he has averaged 9.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and posted a 38.1 three-point field goal percentage.
 
The semifinal win was the culmination of a roller coaster 18 months for the former Raider, and the final against Real Madrid will see his basketball career come full circle following a SU Men's Basketball trip to Madrid and Barcelona in the summer of 2017.
 
"It left me emotional," Sleva said of Wednesday's Game 5 win. "I was basically cut from Paris one and a half years ago after management changes, landed in a last-place team in Germany, and a year later I'm playing in the finals of the best league in Europe against one of the biggest sports teams in the world in Real Madrid. It's something that I dreamed of when [SU head coach Chris] Fite took us on a trip to Spain my junior year."
 
Sleva's Cinderella-like success at Murcia mirrors his exploits as a Raider. SU's all-time leading scorer (2,071 points) and rebounder (1,140 rebounds) helped the Raiders ascend from a 13-win team during his freshman season to campaigns of 27 and 25-wins in his final two years, including a PSAC title-winning season in 2016-17.
 
Sleva continued. "I'm just appreciative of the opportunity to play for Murcia and the team we have here. It's been a dream-like year."
 
The best of 5 series is as follows:
Sat 6/8 8:30 PM (2:30 PM EDT) Murcia @ Real Madrid
Mon 6/10 8:30 PM (2:30 PM EDT) Murcia @ Real Madrid
Wed 6/12 8:30 PM (2:30 PM EDT) Real Madrid @ Murcia
Fri 6/14 7 PM (1 PM EDT) Real Madrid @ Murcia (if necessary)
Sun 6/16 9 PM (3 PM EDT) Murcia @ Real Madrid (if necessary)

(Photos Courtesy of Dustin Sleva)