Olympiacos beats Real Madrid, wins EuroLeague crown in Athens

Olympiacos Piraeus finally closed the gap on years of frustration, beating Real Madrid 92-85 at Telekom Center Athens to win its fourth EuroLeague title and first since 2013. The victory came in front of a home crowd and restored the Greek club to the top of European basketball after a 13-year drought.

The result carried extra weight because the opponent was Real Madrid, the same club Olympiacos had beaten in the 2013 final in London, 100-88. Since then, Olympiacos had fallen in three championship games, losing in 2015, 2017 and 2023. Ending that run in Athens, where the Final Four had returned for the first time in 19 years, gave the title a resonance that went beyond one trophy. It was a statement for Olympiacos, for Piraeus and for Greek basketball, which had waited for a home-soil continental triumph of this size.

The final was tight from the opening minutes. Olympiacos led 46-44 at halftime, but the game featured 10 lead changes and five ties, and was level at 80-80 entering crunch time. Olympiacos controlled the boards 42-26 and made 10 of 20 from three-point range, two indicators of the physical edge that ultimately separated the sides. Evan Fournier scored 20 points and was named Final Four MVP, Alec Peters added 16 points and seven rebounds, Sasha Vezenkov scored 12 and Thomas Walkup finished with 10. All 12 Olympiacos players scored, a depth advantage that mattered in a game decided late.

Real Madrid stayed alive despite a depleted front line, with Walter Tavares, Alex Len and Usman Garuba unavailable and Chuma Okeke pressed into duty at center. Trey Lyles led Madrid with 24 points, 21 of them in the first half, while Mario Hezonja finished with 19 points, five assists and four steals. Sergio Scariolo’s team had a chance to force the issue late, but Olympiacos held firm and pulled away in the closing minutes.

Afterward, Georgios Bartzokas was hoisted into the air by his players after claiming his second EuroLeague championship as Olympiacos coach. The title also vindicated Sasha Vezenkov’s return to the club in 2024 and capped a 5-0 postseason run that completed the mission for a roster built to win at the highest level. Giannis Antetokounmpo, watching from the stands, said he had never seen an atmosphere like the one inside Telekom Center Athens. For Olympiacos, that was more than a compliment. It was proof that the club had turned a long wait into a landmark night.