“Everybody believed at the end of the season, we will have a chance to reach our big goals. And now. Of course, to be in the Final Four is a great feeling for Panathinaikos fans. But now, all of us, we want more,” Coach Ergin Ataman said as he looked ahead to the games in Berlin, which open with a Friday evening showdown between his Greens and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul.

'We want more': Final Four preview, Panathinaikos

“Everybody believed at the end of the season, we will have a chance to reach our big goals. And now. Of course, to be in the Final Four is a great feeling for Panathinaikos fans. But now, all of us, we want more,” Coach Ergin Ataman said as he looked ahead to the games in Berlin, which open with a Friday evening showdown between his Greens and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul.

Ataman was careful to note that his team was essentially built from scratch, with only three holdovers from the 2022-23 season. It took time, but as he mentioned: “This team, after the second part of the regular season, started to play excellent basketball.”

A true players coach, Ataman gives his charges confidence and freedom. But with that comes expectations. 

“The players will decide the results of the game,” he added. 

Fortunately for Ataman, he has three of the biggest stars of the league on his roster and each of them opined on what it will take to bring the EuroLeague Trophy back to Athens. 

“It’s gonna come down to making it a dog fight,” All-EuroLeague First Team center Mathias Lessort explained. “Fight for every ball, fight for every possession. Defensively, offensively, take care of the ball. No turnovers.” 

The team’s top scorer and fellow All-EuroLeague First Teamer Kendrick Nunn shared that sentiment or getting the job done on both ends of the floor: “I think our ability to get hot offensively will be a big key for us in a one-game setting. And just getting some stops.” 

No player at the Final Four has more experience than Kostas Sloukas, a three-time champion who will compete at European basketball’s flagship event for the 10th time. 

“We have to be hungry. We have to be physically and mentally ready,” Sloukas advised. “This kind of game, for sure tactics is one thing, but you have to be aggressive and play physical and be strong.”

While many of the Greens will be featuring at a Final Four for the first time, having a confident head coach and leaders to lean on could make a difference for Panathinaikos.  

MORE PANATHINAIKOS NEWS

“Everybody believed at the end of the season, we will have a chance to reach our big goals. And now. Of course, to be in the Final Four is a great feeling for Panathinaikos fans. But now, all of us, we want more,” Coach Ergin Ataman said as he looked ahead to the games in Berlin, which open with a Friday evening showdown between his Greens and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul.
Ataman was careful to note that his team was essentially built from scratch, with only three holdovers from the 2022-23 season. It took time, but as he mentioned: “This team, after the second part of the regular season, started to play excellent basketball.”
A true players coach, Ataman gives his charges confidence and freedom. But with that comes expectations.

We WANT MORE | Final Four Preview | Panathinaikos

Open to all and free of charge, Hoop District is 3x3 with an edge

Don't miss Hoop District x Off Court in Kraftwerk Berlin

Designed for the digital age, Hoop District is a brand-new Euroleague Basketball 3x3 competition that brings together content creators from all around Europe to compete on & off the court and fight for a €10,000 cash prize. And you don’t want to miss it when it comes to Berlin as part of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four!

Team London will be led on the court by [Behrad Bakhtiari & Denzel Kazembe](https://www.instagram.com/sbb_uk), Team Berlin's captain will be [Sebastian Mechseiner](https://www.instagram.com/cbas), Team Barcelona will have in [Oriol Tres](https://www.instagram.com/tresco_ball) its floor general and finally, the All Star Team will have a main figure in [Jamad Hussean](https://www.instagram.com/_jamaaad).

Hoop District is part of Euroleague Off Court – a fusion of basketball, art, streetwear, fashion and music. The Hoop District tournament will take place on Thursday, May 23 from 16:00-21:00 CEST at Kraftwerk Berlin, which is also the home site of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague FanZone. In addition to the Barcelona and London teams that qualified from the Paris Hoop District tournament in March, Team Berlin and an all-star team will also compete at this week’s big event.

With teams captained by recognizable social media personalities and content creators, Hoop District features unique 3x3 game rules called designed to keep everyone – players, fans, viewers and even referees – constantly engaged throughout swings in the action and the scoreboard. In addition to the standard one- and two-point shots, several novel scenarios called Power Ups may be activated during Hoop District games.

These Power Ups, which include taking a deep three-pointer, getting double points on possessions, no-dribble possessions, and challenging an opponent one-on-one, add strategy and excitement to the games. Teams may use up to two Power Ups per game.

In addition to the Hoop District event, there will also be a slam-dunk contest, a dance performance, a DJ spinning live music and many more activities. Join us for a basketball event like no other!

The Reds from Piraeus are heading to Berlin for their third consecutive Final Four and after narrowly losing to Real Madrid in last season's championship game, Olympiacos has reasons for optimism in the semifinals

The case for Olympiacos: The third time's a charm

Olympiacos Piraeus started the season with new go-to guys and got better and better over time before winning 10 of its last 11 regular season games and knocking off FC Barcelona in the playoffs without the home-court advantage. Next stop: Final Four glory!

The Reds have made it to a third consecutive Final Four for the first time in club history. They beat Barcelona in Game 5 on the road to advance to Berlin and, as always under Coach Georgios Bartzokas, posting good defensive numbers.

Olympiacos will face Real Madrid in the semifinals. Even though some may consider *Los Blancos* to be the heavy favorite, those who have underestimated the Reds in the past have paid a high price.

### An opportunity for revenge

These teams also squared off in the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game. It looked like the Reds were well on their way to capturing their fourth title, leading 78-72 with 2 minutes left. What happened next is well-documented: Sergio Rodriguez brought Real back to life, Sergio Llull buried the go-ahead rainbow jumper over Moustapha Fall, Kostas Sloukas missed at the buzzer and Real celebrated.

Olympiacos Piraeus - Real Madrid | Championship Game | Highlights

Eight of the players who lost that final against Real are back for the 2024 Final Four with Olympiacos. Some of them, such as Alec Peters and Isaiah Canaan, arrive with bigger roles. Peters did not play in last season's championship game, but has been the Reds' main scoring pillar this season, averaging 12.7 points in 38 games as a starter. This time, all eyes will be on him, as he tries to help Olympiacos avenge that loss

### Comeback kids reloaded

Many years ago, Olympiacos was dubbed "The Comeback Kids" due to its ability to rally and win games. Olympiacos trailed by 19 and 17 points, respectively, in the 2012 and 2013 EuroLeague Championship Games against CSKA Moscow and Real Madrid, but ended up winning both titles. Team captain Kostas Papanikolaou is the only one of those "Comeback Kids" still with the team, but the spirit remains and the Reds showed it this season.

Nigel Williams-Goss, Shaquielle McKissic and Kostas Papanikolaou leading the Reds to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four!

Olympiacos's crucial run in Game 5

Olympiacos has retained that come-from-behind ability. During the regular season, the Reds were 7-5 when trailing after three quarters and 2-2 when tied after 30 minutes. In Game 5 of the playoffs, Olympiacos trailed 47-42 with 7 minutes remaining and went on a game-deciding 2-15 run that sealed the outcome. Never count Olympiacos out because it usually knows how to find its way back into any important game.

### Effectiveness down low

Since Moses Wright joined the Reds, Olympiacos has been very deep at center, with a rare combination of size, effectiveness and power. Star center Nikola Milutinov leads the 2023-24 EuroLeague in PIR per 40 minutes (32.1). Starting center Moustapha Fall is 24th on that list (24.6) while Wright did not play enough games to appear in the standings, but averages a PIR of 29.3, which would otherwise have him fifth.

Nikola Milutinov, Moustapha Fall and Moses Wright give Olympiacos Piraeus plenty of versatility at the center position.

Olympiacos's Big Three

Milutinov also leads the competition in most offensive rebounds per 40 minutes (5.4). Fall is the most effective two-point shooter this season (79.1% 2FG), having made 110 of 139 attempts inside the arc. Wright (70.6% 2FG) and Milutinov (62.6% 2FG) are also extremely effective in the paint. Accordingly, Olympiacos has nothing to fear against the best big man in the EuroLeague, Walter Tavares, and Vincent Poirier as the Reds have many weapons to use against them.

### Elite guard-stoppers

Olympiacos has reasons to be optimistic when it comes to guarding the opponents' perimeter stars. EuroLeague head coaches have chosen Thomas Walkup as the competition's Best Defender. He is the first guard to win the award since Dimitris Diamantidis received it for the sixth time in 2012. Nigel Williams-Goss played for Real last season and therefore knows everything about guarding Rodriguez and Llull. Their matchup against Facu Campazzo should be one of the biggest keys to this game, and Olympiacos should like its odds.

Olympiacos Piraeus guard Thomas Walkup is the recipient of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Best Defender Trophy, the first end-of-season award of his career.

Walkup has achieved this honor after a vote conducted among EuroLeague head coaches. With his relentless effort, aggressive and disturbing perimeter defense, and usually in charge of opposition’s most dangerous scoring threats, Walkup led Olympiacos's top-ranked scoring defense, which allowed a league-low 74.4 points per game. He picked up more steals than any other player this season – 60 and counting. That was good for a 1.6 average, the second-best mark in the league. Walkup was accountable for 21.7% of all steals Olympiacos recorded this season on the way to reaching its third consecutive Final Four.

Thomas Walkup named 2023-24 EuroLeague Best Defender

If the Reds make it to the championship game, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic. Olympiacos already managed to stop Panathinaikos's Sloukas in the teams' last EuroLeague showdown. He had 7 points on 2 of 7 shooting in over 20 minutes. Fenerbahce has been winning games due to its three-point shooting, but Olympiacos did a good job guarding its main shooters. In two regular-season games against the Reds, Scottie Wilbekin, Marko Guduric and Tyler Dorsey combined for 6 of 25 three-point shooting (24.0% 3FG) from beyond the arc.

Coach Bartzokas, Filip Petrusev, Williams-Goss, Peters and Papanikolaou know what it feels like to win the EuroLeague. It's time to find out if the rest of the team will discover that feeling in Berlin!

Real Madrid v Olympiacos Piraeus (2024-05-24T19:00:00.000Z)

After 14 seasons in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, Real Madrid swingman Rudy Fernandez has had a career matched by very few players. He is a three-time EuroLeague champ, an All-EuroLeague team selection and he has won a flurry of other accolades both with the Spanish national team and the domestic competitions.

Rudy Fernandez, Real: 'I have always tried to help the team'

After 14 seasons in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, Real Madrid swingman [Rudy Fernandez](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/rudy-fernandez/bmt/) has had a career matched by very few players. He is a three-time EuroLeague champ, an All-EuroLeague team selection and he has won a flurry of other accolades both with the Spanish national team and the domestic competitions.

He made his EuroLeague debut with Joventut Badalona, the club he formed himself as a player, but it has been with Los Blancos that Rudy spent the most of his career and accomplished the bulk of his goals, after a stint in the NBA.

"I decided to stay with Real Madrid because I felt very comfortable, really loved by the people that weok here and my teammates," says Rudy. "At that point you realize how important it is sometimes to feel comfortable, to feel well in a place. And that is reflected in the titles we won."

This will be Rudy's ninth Final Four appearance and also his last, according to a press conference he held a few weeks ago in which he all but confirmed that he would be retiring at the end of the current season. He will now be playing for his fourth EuroLeague crown in Berlin and, to him, that' all that matters - the team winning over his individual accolades.

"I was never obsessed with winning a lot of titles and having a big roll of honors," Rudy explains. "I have always tried to focus on working for the team. I always tried to sacrifice a lot of things to help the team."

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade is back at the ABA League throne, after sweeping arch rival, and last year's champ, Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in their best-of-five series on Sunday. Zvezda's title came after a 76-82 road win in Game 3 at the Belgrade Arena.

This is the seventh time Zvezda won this competition, and fourth in the past five seasons, and to this one it was Yago Dos Santos leading the way, having been honored as the finals MVP.

<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="sl" dir="ltr">BRAVO ZVEZDO!!! 🔴⚪️<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/kkcz?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#kkcz</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreTheTeam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreTheTeam</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CrvenoBelaPorodica?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CrvenoBelaPorodica</a> <a href="https://t.co/M6SqYPTFZw">pic.twitter.com/M6SqYPTFZw</a></p>&mdash; KK Crvena zvezda Meridianbet (@kkcrvenazvezda) <a href="https://twitter.com/kkcrvenazvezda/status/1792305199068905702?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 

After wins in the first two games of the series which Zvezda hosted at the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall, the coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos men took control of Game 3 early on, but Partizan kept it close. A three-pointer from Aleksa Avramovic early in the third quarter gave Partizan a 44-42 lead, but that was the only time the entire night the hosts had a lead.

Branko Lazic answered with a three right away to spark a 0-10 run, and Zvezda had its biggest advantage, 55-65, early in the fourth. The hosts tried to rally, but Zvezda prevailed to sweep its way to the trophy.

Luka Mitrovic collected 12 points and 8 rebounds in Game 3, Rokas Giedraitis also scored 12 points, while Dos Santos scored 11 in a title-clinching victory. Avramovic scored 17, and Danilo Andjusic had 13 points for Partizan.

Crvena Zvezda sweeps Partizan to win ABA League title

It may not be arriving in Berlin as the favorite, but Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul is as dangerous and confident as any team competing for EuroLeague glory in the German capital

The case for Fenerbahce: An offense brimming with confidence

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul is returning to the Final Four for the first time since 2019 and in search of its second EuroLeague title, having been crowned the champion in 2017. Fenerbahce might be the team with the fewest victories and the lowest winning percentage of the four teams, but don't think for a second that Fenerbahce is a big underdog in Berlin following a season in which the team and the players set several records and accomplished historic feats.

The Canaries arrive at the Final Four loaded with confidence. After all, they made history by becoming the first team to ever win Game 5 on the road and did it no less than in overtime, which is another first.

Fenerbahce also did so by repeatedly bouncing back. That Game 5 win came after the team had a chance to clinch the series in the fourth game, but lost it at home. Moreover, the entire playoff success came right after an early April four-game losing streak in all competitions, as it appeared that Fenerbahce was reeling at the worst possible time.

But the team showed plenty of character, not only late in the season, but throughout the entire campaign, which is exactly what it will need in Berlin.

Some of the best moments from Fenerbahce's 23-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague campaign.

Top 5 Plays | Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul

Fenerbahce is the first team to make an in-season coaching change and still reach the Final Four since Real Madrid in 2011. Sarunas Jasikevicius took over for Dimitris Itoudis in mid-December, just ahead of Round 14.

Jasikevicius turned things around immediately as Fenerbahce won its first four games under the new coach and seven of its first eight. The team went on to win 14 of those final 21 regular-season games, and 10 victories came by a double-digit margin. Only two teams scored more points the rest of the regular season than Fenerbahce's 87.1 under Saras.

That is also all before the memorable five-game playoff series, in which Fenerbahce won two road games, both in overtime.

Also, you will be hard-pressed to find a team that made, or attempted, more three-pointers, than this Fenerbahce squad did this season.

Fenerbahce has set the single-season record by making 449 triples and heads to the Final Four just seven attempts shy (1,136) of the all-time mark, too. The team shoots from all ranges and positions and has four players who have made more than 40 triples this season, led by Scottie Wilbekin's 118.

Fenerbahce has made a double-digit number of three-pointers in 28 games, including an all-time single-game record of 24 back in March in a win over Valencia Basket. Under Jasikevicius, Fenerbahce is making 12.7 triples per game. In the playoffs, that number rose to 13.4 per game.

Add to the fact that in late March, All-EuroLeague forward Nigel Hayes-Davis became the first player to score 50 points in a EuroLeague game and it is easy to conclude that this team is brimming with confidence in its offense.

And it surely has everything needed to go all the way in Berlin.

It may not be arriving in Berlin as the favorite, but Fenerbahce is as dangerous and confident as any team competing for EuroLeague glory in the German capital

Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens v Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (2024-05-24T16:00:00.000Z)

The 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion will be revealed in a series of do-or-die games sure to thrill anyone watching. Stay up on top of every moment of the drama from the semifinals and championship game by signing up for an exclusive Final Four pass on EuroLeague TV.

 Enjoy the Final Four action with an exclusive EuroLeague TV pass 

It has all come down to this. Over three days between Friday, May 24, and Sunday, May 26, the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion will be revealed in a series of do-or-die games sure to thrill anyone watching.

Best of all, you can stay up on top of every moment of the drama from the semifinals and championship game by signing up for an [exclusive Final Four pass on EuroLeague TV](https://tv.euroleague.net/).

After 34 action-packed rounds of elite basketball in the regular season and four memorable playoff series, four teams – Real Madrid, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and Olympiacos Piraeus – will go to battle in Berlin, Germany, as they look to secure the biggest prize in European basketball – the EuroLeague title!

You can p[urchase your Final Four pass on EuroLeague TV right now](https://tv.euroleague.net/) and it will remain available to buy until the end of the championship game on May 26. By having access to the Final Four pass, you will be able to watch an array of content on EuroLeague TV – the Final Four games, features, documentaries, and much more – until the end of May.

What's more, [by purchasing a Final Four pass, you will get a 30% discount towards an annual pass](https://tv.euroleague.net/) for next season.

Don't hesitate and make sure you have everything set up ready for tipoff, with the first semifinal taking place at 18:00 CEST on Friday, May 24.

FINAL FOUR NEWS

Watch the four games over the championship weekend ad-free

Enjoy the Final Four action with an exclusive EuroLeague TV pass

After an offseason rebuild and a slow start, Panathinaikos heads to Berlin in excellent form

The case for Panathinaikos: These Greens are peaking at the right time

A sign of a great team is turning a weakness into a strength. [Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/panathinaikos-bc-athens/roster/pan/?season=2023-24) has done that this season in becoming a candidate to go all the way.

The Greens finished the 2022-23 season in 17th place, which was unbecoming of the club’s storied history. A difference had to be made and it started on the bench. Panathinaikos lured Ergin Ataman in to become its new head coach and rebuilt the team from top to bottom.

Fourteen players from last season’s club left. The four who remained – [Marius Grigonis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/marius-grigonis/002328/), [Panagiotis Kalaitzakis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/panagiotis-kalaitzakis/011209/), [Leftherios Mantzoukas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/eleftherios-mantzoukas/008084/) and [Alexandros Samontourov](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/alexandros-samontourov/011442/) – accounted for just 12.9 percent of Panathinaikos’s scoring, 9.8% of its rebounding and 11.9% of its assists last season. That made for a lot of production to be made up.

Finding stars to fill the box score was never going to be a problem. Finding the players who could produce and come together as a winning unit was the challenge. And Coach Ataman was just the right man for the project.

Over the course of 34 regular-season rounds and a five-game playoff series, Ataman provided the blueprint and reenforced it with his undying confidence. Along the way, the roster turned itself from a group of men into a well-oiled machine. And in many ways, that growth is what makes Panathinaikos most dangerous because as we have seen, the Greens are still growing.

Panathinaikos' Top Plays from 10/01/2023 to 05/17/2024

Panathinaikos' best plays of the 2023-24 season

Panathinaikos lost two of its first three home games, including against archrival Olympiacos Piraeus on opening night. It still had a losing record after falling to Real Madrid in Round 13. That game was also the first time [Kendrick Nunn](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/kendrick-nunn/012774/), who debuted in Round 7, played more than 30 minutes or scored at least 20 points.

How much better was Panathinaikos over the second half of the season? It tied AS Monaco for the best record at 13-4.

That improvement can be seen in many places. Injured for most of the season, [Ioannis Papapetrou](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/ioannis-papapetrou/005161/) more than quadrupled his scoring from his first 10 appearances of the season (2.7 points per game) in his last four playoff games (12.5 ppg.).

Kalaitzakis, who had not played more than 10 minutes in a game since early February, played a big role down the stretch in Game 5 of the playoffs against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv.

And the more Coach Ataman relied on Nunn, the better he became. When Nunn played at least 30 minutes in a game, he shot 51.2% from downtown. When he played less than 30 minutes, he shot 29.9%.

Every team to reach the EuroLeague Semifinals has something special. And the numbers will show Panathinaikos to be an outstanding team on both ends of the floor. But what might just be the difference between the Greens and the rest of the teams in Berlin is that Coach Ataman has his boys still climbing to the peak of their collective abilities.

Panathinaikos is not coming to the Final Four too high or too low. The slug-it-out playoff series against Maccabi ensured that the Greens understand how hard they will have to work to defeat Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. The way they played in the lead up to that series and at the end of Game 5 should remind them how great they can be.  

And if this team is at its best when these next games tip, their opponents should be worried.

A week away from the final action, looking back at the games between the Final Four teams can shed light on what to expect in Berlin. 

Stats review: Final Four teams vs. each other   

The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four is set with only two of the four teams that earned home-court advantage for the playoffs surviving to advance to Berlin. Improbable, but not unprecedented, this is not the first time the bracket has broken that way. Back in 2018, the parity in the middle of the playoff field and favorable matchups led to a pair of lower seeds pushing through to the Final Four with no series that year going past four games.

Even with that previous case, this year has still felt different. With [Olympiacos Piraeus](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/olympiacos-piraeus/roster/oly/?season=2023-24) clawing its way back from a 1-2 series deficit, [Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fenerbahce-beko-istanbul/roster/ulk/?season=2023-24) needing overtime in Game 5 to advance, and [Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/panathinaikos-bc-athens/roster/pan/?season=2023-24) narrowly surviving Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv's bid to score an upset of its own, the drama in the playoffs was palpable. As much as parity in the EuroLeague is not new, this season has felt like uncharted territory in the manner it has extended into the postseason.

The question now is whether the upsets continue onto the league's biggest stage, and the regular-season matchups between these teams may provide some clarity about what those chances look like.

### Real vs. Final Four teams

[Real Madrid](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/real-madrid/roster/mad/?season=2023-24) stood alone atop the standings with a four-win margin and swept Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz convincingly enough to conjure memories of its nearly unbeaten run through the first half of the regular season. Facing the other three Final Four participants in consecutive rounds around early December, Los Blancos suffered their first loss of the season in Round 11 at Fenerbahce in overtime before dispatching Olympiacos and Panathinaikos in Greece to close their most grueling road trip of the season. Losing to Panathinaikos and Fenerbahce back-to-back after the midseason break came in what was ultimately Real's worst stretch of a difficult second half of the year. As a result, Real split the regular season series with its fellow semifinalists, putting up a better record on the road than at home.

Real Madrid Top Plays of the Round 12, Round 13 and 1 other Season Part

Real Madrid highlights vs Final Four teams

### Olympiacos vs. Final Four teams

Olympiacos did the same, finish 3-3 against the other Final Four teams, despite posting a less encouraging efficiency differential. The Reds were not, however, able to score a victory over Real Madrid during the regular season. Despite slowing the game down to their EuroLeague-low pace and controlling the glass, Olympiacos had a difficult time corralling Facundo Campazzo and Dzanan Musa while Real Madrid was able to put a lid on the rim, limiting Olympiacos to just 49% shooting around the rim. How Olympiacos handles the ball and finds ways to put pressure on Walter Tavares figure to be keys to any potential upset bid.

### Panathinaikos vs. Final Four teams

Panathinaikos may have lost most of its games against the other Final Four competitors, but the Greens finished scored double-digit wins over Fenerbahce and on Real Madrid's court while playing Olympiacos close on the road in the second half of the regular season. Indeed, their first three losses against the same team came during a troubling 6-7 start. the Greens' mid-year turnaround has rendered their early struggles moot. The question is how far that takes them against a battle-tested Fenerbahce team that weathered five games and held down Most Valuable Player Mike James to best AS Monaco in the quarterfinals. In their early-season loss to Fenerbahce, Panathinaikos had a hard time getting shots to fall outside of the paint, even going 10-for-19 from the free-throw line. In their early February win, Kendrick Nunn had a productive outing to compensate for a 2-for-12 effort from beyond the arc.

Panathinaikos highlights vs. Final Four teams

### Fenerbahce vs. Final Four teams

Whether Fenerbahce, the lone Final Four team to post a winning record against the others, can prove that its defense has been the driving factor behind Panathinaikos's struggles against it looms large. The Turkish club turned things around after a slow start to the season in their own right and have defended the perimeter at a very high level all season, but gave the Greek powerhouse fits in particular. It will need to avoid a regression to the mean to contend with a Panathinaikos defense that surged to narrowly miss out on usurping Real Madrid as the EuroLeague's most efficient defense of the season overall.

Fenerbahce highlights vs. Final Four teams