Greek basketball fans’ dreams of celebrating a Greek Euroleague champion again this year were shattered on Friday when the country’s top two teams – 2024 winner Panathinaikos and its eternal rival Olympiacos – lost to Fenerbahce and Monaco respectively in the semifinals in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Fans had hoped the two Greek giants could meet in the final for the first time ever, as they were both favourites in their games. The Greek teams will now only face off to claim the third spot of the Euroleague on Sunday.
In the meantime, a Greek coach, basketball legend Vassilis Spanoulis, will be leading Monaco in its fight for the title against Fenerbahce. A former player of both Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, Spanoulis is also the head coach of the Greek National team.
The Euroleague final will play at 9 p.m. Greek time on Sunday, after the 6 p.m. game between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos.
In the opening semifinal, Fenerbahce advanced to the championship game by downing Panathinaikos after leading for more than 38 minutes with a dominant display.
The Turkish team took early control for a double-digit first quarter lead and stayed ahead, 38-33, until halftime. While Panathinaikos came back to within 1 in the third period, Fenerbahce stayed strong in the fourth to seal the win.
In the second semifinal, Monaco beat Olympiacos 65-75 to reach its first-ever championship game and condemn the Reds to a fourth successive Final Four heartbreak, despite Evan Fournier’s impressive performance setting a semifinal record this century with 31 points.
Check out the best of the best of last night’s semifinal games
Top 5s of the Round I @TurkishAirlines pic.twitter.com/c1BXMqxMZM
— Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) May 24, 2025
In anticipation of the third spot face-off on Sunday, Greek basketball fans can be comforted watching the new documentary showcasing Panathinaikos’s 2024 ascent to winning the EuroLeague title.
“The 7th Star,” produced by Euroleague Basketball Originals, premiered on YouTube last Sunday, May 18. It follows the Greens’ postseason journey towards clinching the club’s seventh EuroLeague championship, as it goes behind the scenes to hear the locker room talks, feel the OAKA roar, and witness the team’s historic moments.
“They called it a curse. Twelve years without a title. From the bottom of the EuroLeague table to lifting the trophy in Berlin — The 7th Star is not just a basketball story, it’s a resurrection,” the film’s intro reads.
During the 50-minute documentary, some of the main protagonists from Panathinaikos’s run to the 2024 EuroLeague title take center stage, including club owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos, coach Ergin Ataman, and players Kostas Sloukas, Mathias Lessort and Kendrick Nunn.
