--- title: "Valencia Basket reach first-ever EuroLeague Final Four in Athens; 0-2 comeback vs Panathinaikos" sdDatePublished: "2026-05-20T13:34:00Z" source: "https://www.olympics.com/en/news/euroleague-final-four-2026-guide" topics: - name: "sport" identifier: "medtop:15000000" - name: "basketball" identifier: "medtop:20000851" - name: "sport event" identifier: "medtop:20001108" - name: "sport achievement" identifier: "medtop:20001301" locations: - "France" - "Piraeus" - "United States" - "Valencia" - "Agía Paraskeví" - "İstanbul" - "Switzerland" - "Serbia" - "Germany" - "Ajalvir" - "Dominican Republic" - "Spain" --- Valencia Basket reach first-ever EuroLeague Final Four in Athens; 0-2 comeback vs Panathinaikos Basketball: EuroLeague Final Four 2026: Valencia dare to dream as Fenerbahce defend their crown Basketball: EuroLeague Final Four 2026: Valencia dare to dream as Fenerbahce defend their crown Defending champions Fenerbahce, serial contenders Olympiacos, perennial heavyweights Real Madrid, and historic debutants Valencia meet in Athens for Europe's biggest club basketball weekend. The2026 EuroLeague Final Fourarrives in Athens onFriday 22 May, as Olympiacos Piraeus, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, Real Madrid, and Valencia Basket meet for the most important weekend in European men's clubbasketball. Athens is a fitting host.Olympiacos— based in Piraeus, just 11km outside the Greek capital — have reached this stage for a fifth consecutive season, becoming the first club to secure their spot aftersweeping AS Monaco 3-0in the playoffs.Fenerbahcefollowed byclosing out Zalgiris Kaunas 3-1, surviving a dramatic overtime finish in Game 4.Real Madriddispatched Hapoel Tel Aviv 3-1.Valenciacompleted the bracket with the most improbable run of the postseason,overcoming a 0-2 deficit against Panathinaikos to win 3-2and reach the club's first-ever Final Four — only the second team in EuroLeague history to recover from that position in a best-of-five series. This edition also marks the first Final Four without a third-place game. Here's everything you need to know about the 2026 EuroLeague Final Four. Relive the magic ❄️⛷️ Sign up free for full replays, highlights, and medal moments - anytime. Stars to watch at the 2026 EuroLeague Final Four Top-seeded Olympiacos carry the greatest collective Final Four experience in Athens, with 70 combined games among their current roster, but titles have remained elusive;Thrylos(The Legend) have won just three EuroLeague titles in their history: 1997, 2012, and 2013. Sasha Vezenkov, a two-time EuroLeague MVP who earned his second such award this season after leading all players in points per game (19.2) and performance index rating (PIR) (22.7), arrives at his sixth Final Four having played 302 EuroLeague games without a championship.Kostas Papanikolaou(15 Final Four appearances) andParis 2024 Olympicbronze medallistNikola Milutinov(293 career EuroLeague games, zero titles) are in the same position. Not a single No. 1 seed has won the championship since 2016-17, but Olympiacos have a case for ending that run: they led the EuroLeague this season in scoring (90.7 ppg), assists (21.7 apg), and team PIR (110.5). Vezenkov (#14) was part of the Olympiacos team that finished third at last season's Final Four. ) However, they'll first have to get past defending champions and Türkiye powerhouse Fenerbahce in the first semifinal on Friday. Nine players on Sarunas Jasikevicius' roster won the EuroLeague title in Abu Dhabi last season, and the squad arrives in Athens as the EuroLeague's best defensive unit, allowing a top-ranked 0.97 points per possession and a league-best 32 per cent from three-point range. Nando De Colo, with 10 Final Four games, two titles, and a pair of Olympic silver medals with France, heads an experienced group bolstered by the returns of Devon Hall,Nicolo Melli,andMikael Jantunen, who all missed the most recent regular season meeting (won by Olympiacos, 104-87). FRA v USA - Men's Gold Medal Game | Basketball | Olympic Games Paris 2024 The Men's Basketball Gold Medal Game took place on 10 2024 at Bercy Arena, Paris. For the fifth time in a row, United States of America claimed the Gold with an 98:87 win against France. In the other semifinal, Real Madrid, the winningest team in the competition's history with 11 championships, bring the deepest individual pedigree. Double Olympic medallistSergio Llull, 36, leads all players in Athens with 20 Final Four appearances and three EuroLeague titles, withFacundo Campazzo,Mario Hezonja, andGabriel Deckforming an experienced core. The key absentee is three-time EuroLeague Best Defender winnerEdy Tavares, sidelined through a knee injury — a significant frontcourt loss. Los Blancoswill face Final Four debutants Valencia for the seventh time this season, with both sides members of Spain's Liga ACB. Real Madrid leads the season series 4-2. Valencia's best hope of overturning Madrid's recent dominance may beJean Montero. The 22-year-old Dominican guard was named the 2025-26 EuroLeague Playoffs MVP after driving Valencia's comeback against Panathinaikos, and earned All-EuroLeague First Team honours during the regular season — the first Valencia player ever to receive that distinction. He averaged 13.7 points per game across the campaign. 2026 EuroLeague Final Four schedule All times local Athens time (EEST, UTC+3). Semifinal:(1) Olympiacos Piraeus vs (4) Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul — Friday 22 May, 18:00 Semifinal:(2) Valencia Basket vs (3) Real Madrid — Friday 22 May, 21:00 Championship game:Sunday 24 May, 21:00 Venue: Telekom Center Athens, Athens, Greece How to watch the 2026 EuroLeague Final Four live TheEuroLeague TV Final Four Passstreams all games live worldwide, except in Spain. Commentary is available in English, Greek, French, and Serbian. The pass can be purchased until the start of the Championship Game via euroleaguebasketball.net. Spanish viewers and fans in countries with regional TV rights should check the full broadcast listingshere.