The Euroleague final took place in Berlin on Sunday evening. Panathinaikos Athens beat defending champions Real Madrid to lift the trophy
Panathinaikos Athens has triumphed in the Euroleague for the fifth time and is now the sole record winner. In the final game of the Final Four in Berlin, the Greeks won 95:80 (49:54) against the Spanish defending champions Real Madrid, who failed to draw level with Athens and ZSKA Moscow from Russia in terms of victories. Panathinaikos last lifted the trophy in 2011.
Madrid, led by experienced players such as Rudy Fernandez (39), Sergio Rodriguez (37) and Sergio Llull (36), had beaten Olympiakos Piraeus in last year’s final and were once again up against a Greek opponent in the Uber Arena. Main round winners Real dominated in the early stages, but Athens, second behind the Whites after 34 games, refused to be shaken off and always stayed in contention.
In the second half, the Madrilenians initially did little offensively. Panathinaikos, supported in the arena by Greek NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) among others, made too little of it. The thrilling duel remained open for a long time, but Athens pulled the game back in the final spell and Konstantinos Mitoglou drained a three to decide the encounter (86:76 in the 38th minute). The team of top scorer Kostas Sloukas (24 points), who played an outstanding game, did not let victory slip from its grasp and Head Coach Ergin Ataman celebrated his third Euroleague triumph in four years. The Turk had triumphed with Anadolu Istanbul in 2021 (in Cologne) and 2022.
Real had eliminated Olympiakos in the semi-finals in a rematch of the 2023 final (87:76), while Panathinaikos beat Fenerbahce Istanbul/Turkey (73:57). Violent clashes broke out between the rival fan groups of Panathinaikos and Fenerbahce before the tip-off of the first game on Friday. According to the Berlin police, “pyrotechnics were also used and bottles thrown” during the riots. In front of the arena, the police handed out bans and bans from the premises.
Piraeus won the match for third place against Fenerbahce (87:84) on Sunday. The German EuroLeague participants Bayern Munich and Alba Berlin had clearly missed out on the play-offs this year
Real Madrid – Panathinaikos Athens 80:95 (54:49)
Best scorers for Madrid: Musa (15 points), Campazzo (12), Rodriguez (11)
Best scorers for Athens: Sloukas (24), Nunn (21), Lessort (17), Grant (11)
