Real clinches 12th title
by Javi Gancedo
It has been a fantastic season for Real Madrid, with basically no struggles or bad moments at any point, and it should finish with a bang, conquering the EuroLeague title. Panathinaikos has enough weapons to put up a good fight, with two elite generators like Kostas Sloukas and Kendrick Nunn, a force of nature like center Mathias Lessort and key players like Marius Grigonis and especially Ioannis Papapetrou in great shape. Real has last season's experience, and compared to the 2023 championship game, Los Blancos have Facu Campazzo, Vincent Poirier and Guerschon Yabusele this time. Real's combination of experience, depth and self-confidence is, I think, unprecedented. This version of Real Madrid is the kind of team fans will look back at in 20-30 years as one of the best ever. For that, Real needs to win tonight and win back-to-back EuroLeague titles for the first time since 1968, and I am sure ambitious players like Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Llull and Sergio Rodriguez don't want to spoil a good story. I predicted that Real would win both Final Four games by double digits, and stand by that choice. My pick: Real
Panathinaikos’s Big Three to bring a seventh star to Athens
by Geoff Gillingham
For me, this year’s championship game is incredibly tough to call. On the one hand, I can imagine Real Madrid rising to the occasion and giving Rudy Fernandez the EuroLeague farewell he deserves. On the other, I can also picture Ergin Ataman raising both of his fists in the air to the Panathinaikos supporters. With the Greens’ passage to this year’s title decider, Coach Ataman has now been in four of the last five championship games. There’s a ton of experience on Real Madrid’s side, but I think that Panathinaikos will be buoyed by beating Los Blancos on their own patch in Round 27, when Ataman’s men became the first team to defeat last year’s champions on their home court. If Mathias Lessort can dominate the paint and Panathinaikos’s guard duo Kostas Sloukas and Kendrick Nunn do their thing, I believe that’ll be enough for the Greens to lift their first EuroLeague trophy since 2011. My pick: Panathinaikos
Not only back-to-back, Real goes wire-to-wire
by Frankie Sachs
There is a narrative that while Real Madrid came in as the defending champion, Panathinaikos rebuilt its squad, improved throughout the season and now is on the brink of making history by winning the championship. Guess what? This is not the same Real madrid team that dominated one year ago in Kaunas. It’s better. Los Blancos also spent a season perfecting things. They have the talent, the depth and the experience to get the job done. I expect team captain Sergio Llull to invite Sergio Rodriguez and Rudy Fernandez to lift the cup with him. It will be the end of an era and it will end with the club’s 12th crown. My pick: Real Madrid
The trophy will stay in Real's hands
by Frank Lawlor
Word is that Dimitris Diamantidis will be in the house tonight. Ergin Ataman might want to put him in uniform. The Panathinaikos defense rocked against Fenerbahce on Friday. It will have to rock and roll against Real Madrid on Sunday. If Facu Campazzo and Sergio Rodriguez are free to roam, the defending champs will be very hard to beat, given all the targets they can feed. If, on the other hand, Jerian Grant and maybe Panagiotis Kalaitzakis can disrupt the Real creators, Panathinaikos has a better chance. The other key for the Greens is rebounding, which means that Dinos Mitoglou will have to play a major role helping out Mathias Lessort. Whatever else, Panathinaikos must stop Real from running. Alas, the best inch-for-inch defender in EuroLeague history, Diamantidis, will not be in uniform. For that reason, I see Real going back-to-back and being the first modern EuroLeague team to lead from tipoff to final buzzer over a full season. My pick: Real Madrid.
Get ready for Green party in Berlin
by Igor Petrinovic
One game for all the glory! On one side it is Real Madrid, its offense and an incredible experience of playing in these types of games. On the other, it is Panathinaikos and the defense that allowed only 57 points in the semifinals. As much as Los Blancos have experience, that's how much Panathinaikos lacks it. Apart from Kostas Sloukas and coach Ergin Ataman who feel comfortable in the Final Four championship games, it is a group of players who have not previously been in this situation in their careers before. But the Greens seem determined to make that inexperience irrelevant, and they certainly have the tools to beat Real. They proved that in regular season when they embraced that run-and-gun style, and scored 97 points in a win in Madrid. I think EuroLeague trophy goes to Athens after 13 years, and Kendrick Nunn will be the one holding Final Four MVP trophy when the night ends. My pick: Panathinaikos.