BADALONA (Spain) - In 2024-25, playing at home in Athens, the Queen couldn't manage to get crowned again, losing to Unicaja in the Semi-Finals of the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL.
In Season X, the battlefield moved to Badalona, where they previously suffered a heavy defeat in Game 2 of their Quarter-Final series against Asisa Joventut. But this time, AEK BC went at it from the tip-off.
Dragan Sakota's team took control of the game early against the back-to-back BCL champions and booked their ticket for the Championship Game, taking place on Saturday at 20:00 CET, against Rytas Vilnius.
It was a complete domination by the black-and-yellow Greek powerhouse, which took their revenge with the 78-65 win against Ibon Navarro's team, which will now face La Laguna Tenerife in the bronze-medal matchup.
Turning point
As previously mentioned, AEK were effective since the beginning, setting the tone in a low-scoring first quarter. In the second, everything changed: the Queen went on a 21-6 run to get up by 17 points (35-18).
After two quarters, AEK kept Unicaja to 21 points: it was the lowest scoring first half by any team in a BCL Semi-Final, and no team have ever recovered from a double‑digit halftime deficit in a BCL Semi‑Final.
In the third, Unicaja's fighting spirit emerged, as they brought the deficit down to 8 points (44-36) halfway through the period. Kendrick Perry's pride and their defensive impact damaged AEK, but not fully.
Between the end of the third and the start of the fourth, Lukas Lekavicius stepped up to make sure his team could keep the lead comfortable and secure. The wish got fulfilled, and AEK's back in the Final.
Player of the Game
Last season, he had a dominant season in the FIBA Europe Cup to bring PAOK all the way to the Finals. But he didn't finish what he started, as the Greeks lost to Surne Bilbao Basket.
In Season X, he wants to write a different ending to the book opened at the beginning of the season with another Greek team, AEK. Now, it's only one game left for Frank Bartley to become a European champion.
Even though he wasn't in SUNEL Arena in May 2025, he contributed to his team's cold revenge over Unicaja with 16 points over 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. Every time Unicaja fought back, he silenced them.
Stats don't lie
There weren't many moments in which one could think that Unicaja had a chance against AEK on Thursday. If we take a look at the stats, it becomes even more evident.
For example, the Greeks (10-of-24, 41.7%) were way more efficient than Unicaja (8-of-30, 26.7%) from deep.
Bottom line
For the first time since 2020, AEK will compete for the BCL title. They will do it against newcomers at this stage, the first team from Lithuania to make it to the Championship Game, Rytas Vilnius.
They reached the Final by executing Dragan Sakota's game plan perfectly, with several players contributing in different fashions. Lukas Lekavicius (12 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds), James Nunnally (12 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds), and Greg Brown III (8 points over 4-of-4 FG and 7 rebounds) were among them.
On the losing end, Unicaja won't be able to defend the title as they did in Athens, putting an end to their trophy streak. Except for Kendrick Perry (12 points), nobody on the Spanish team's roster scored in double-digits.
For the first time since the 2022-23 season, and only the third time ever, there won't be any Spanish team in the Championship Game. Unicaja will face Tenerife in the third-place game, scheduled on May 9 at 17:00 CET.
They said
"I think we were ready for the game. We had two weeks of really good practices. We know they like to run the fast break. I feel the key was our defense and ability to take that away." - AEK's Lukas Lekavicius.
"In the first half, we just couldn’t make shots. I thought we got great looks, I thought we played solid basketball, and we played solid defense. In the second half, I saw some fight in our guys, some fire that woke us and the fans up. They helped us so much in the second half. We fell short and made some tough shots at the end. Disappointed with today's result, but we have a lot of season left." - Unicaja's Killian Tillie.