Athens in red and white: Olympiacos is again the Euroleague champion

Olympiacos back at the top of European basketball. Team from Piraeus beat Madrid “Real” with the score 92:85 in the final Euroleague in Athens and won the fourth title in the club’s history.

The final took place in the arena Telecom Center Athenswhere Greek basketball got a night that fans were talking about Olympiacos dreamed for 13 years. The last time the red and white won the Euroleague was in 2013. Now the wait is over: a fourth star has been sewn into the club’s history, and Athens has become an extension of Piraeus for one night.

As already written “Athens News”the capital of Greece received the right to host Euroleague Final Four 2026 back in the fall of 2025. At the time it looked like a major sporting event for Athens. Now it has turned into an ideal scenario for the Greek club: to win the main European trophy at home, in front of their own stands and in an atmosphere that it was difficult for their opponents not to feel under their skin.

The finale was nervous and lively. “Real”despite personnel problems and the absence of a number of key front line players, started strongly and took the lead in the first quarter. Madrid stayed in the game until the last minutes, and Trey Lyles And Mario Hezonja they didn’t allow me for a long time “Olympiacos” calmly take the title.

But the team Georgios Bartzokas there was enough depth, character and a cool head in the ending. One of the heroes of the final was Evan Fournierdialed 20 points and made important shots at the decisive moment. Alec Peters also played a key role, especially on the free throw line in the end, when the cost of each shot was no longer measured by points, but by the nerves of the fans.

Recruiting also became an important factor: Olympiacos significantly surpassed “Real” in the fight under shields. It was this physical power that helped the red and white turn the tide of the match after a difficult start. Beauty is beauty, but in finals the winner is often the one who takes the ball first, and not the one who waves his arms more beautifully. Sport in general is a rough thing, despite all the glossiness on television.

For Georgios Bartzokas this trophy became the second Euroleague title since “Olympiacos” after the 2013 victory. For Costas Papanicolaou – already the third Euroleague as part of the club: he won the tournament in 2012, 2013 and now in 2026. For most of the players in the current squad, this is the first major European trophy in their careers.

After the final KAE Olympiacos I limited myself to a short but very telling publication. The club posted a photo with the trophy and the players, signing it with one word: “Καλημέρα” – “Good morning”. After 13 years of waiting, more text was probably not required. Sometimes one word sounds louder than a three-page press release, although press services still usually try to prove the opposite.

Victory Olympiacos became not just a sporting result, but a symbolic revenge for years of almost, but not fully realized, chances. The team regularly reached the decisive stages, remained among the elite, but the trophy eluded. Now this series is over: the red and white are again not just participants in great European basketball, but its champions.

For Greece, this final was another reminder that basketball here has long ceased to be just a sport. It is part of the city’s identity, club memory and national sporting pride. And for the fans Olympiacos the evening in Athens became the moment when one can finally stop remembering 2013 as the last great date and begin a new chapter.

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