For three days, May 24-26, the eyes of the sporting world will be on the German capital as Uber Arena hosts the 2024 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four. The two semifinals couldn’t be more different. Let’s have a look.
2024 Final Four at a Glance
Artikel
3 Lesezeit
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens vs. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (May 24, 18:00 CEST)
Two teams making their Final Four returns after many years away will also face off at the European basketball showcase for the first time. After finishing the regular season in second place, Panathinaikos survived a five-game playoff thriller against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv to reach its first Final Four since 2012.
Fenerbahce was sixth at the end of the regular season and then upset AS Monaco in the playoffs. This will be Fenerbahce’s first Final Four since 2019. Their only previous postseason meetings came when Fenerbahce swept the Greens in the 2017 playoffs en route to the club’s only EuroLeague crown. In the teams’ two games this season, each won at home by a double-digit margin.
Of note, Panathinaikos’s head coach Ergin Ataman is also the head coach of the Turkish national team. Fenerbahce head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius, point guard Nick Calathes and center Georgios Papagiannis are all former Panathinaikos players.
Real Madrid vs. Olympiacos Piraeus (May 24, 21:00 CEST)
The second semifinal is a rematch of last season’s championship game, which came down to the final shot before Real Madrid triumphed. Los Blancos finished atop the regular season standings and swept Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in the playoffs. Olympiacos was placed fifth at the end of the regular season and then overcame a 2-1 deficit to take down FC Barcelona in a grueling playoff duel. Both teams are making their third straight Final Four appearances.
The protagonists in the first Euroleague Basketball game of the modern era, on October 16, 2000, Real Madrid and Olympiacos have a rich history together. In addition to last season’s final, Real bested Olympiacos in the 1995 championship game in Zaragoza, Spain; the Reds triumphed in the 2013 title game in London and two years later in Madrid, the locals celebrated at Olympiacos’s expense. They’ve also met in the 1996, 2009 and 2014 playoffs.
On the floor, this game is the ultimate clash of styles and tempo. Real Madrid led the league this season in scoring, rebounds, assists and PIR. Olympiacos boasted the top-ranked defense both in terms of points and PIR allowed. It should be a treat!