MIES (Switzerland) - AEK Betsson BC have claimed the last spot and with it the right to host the Season 9 closing tournament, named the BCL Final Four, powered by SUNEL.
On May 9, they will welcome Unicaja, La Laguna Tenerife, and Galatasaray to Athens in what is surely one of the strongest and most competitive Final Four lineups ever.
Let's have a look at the good news and bad news that each team will be navigating as they prepare their assaults on the title.
AEK Betsson BC
Semi-Final opponent: Unicaja
Good news
AEK know what it takes to win a Final Four on home soil, and they know what it's like to overcome an ACB club coached by Ibon Navarro in the Semi-Final.
They did both of those things in 2018, when they won the second edition of the BCL and created scenes and images in the OAKA that live in our memories until this day.
The atmosphere in that SUNEL Arena for Game 3 of the Quarter-Finals this season showed everyone that the Queen still know how to throw a party and the vibes will be very similar again when the Final Four rolls into town.
To add to that good news, head coach Dragan Sakota was the mastermind behind that 2018 campaign and there's no doubt that his emotional attachment to the club is driving him to repeat the feat.
AEK also have the star power to get the job done again and their talisman is on fire in the SUNEL Arena. Hunter Hale dropped 20 or more points in four of his last five BCL games at home.
As a team, AEK actually shoot the lowest percentage from three-point range at 35.6 percent but don't let that fool you into believing this isn't a shooting team.
They splashed 14 triples against Nanterre in Game 3 of the Quarter-Finals, which was a new record in a BCL Play-Offs game. They have that chameleon-like ability to take any shape they need in order to get the job done.
So many of those three-balls were off the dribble as well. This AEK team can make the shots the defense wants them to take - exactly what you need to win games at the Final Four.
Bad news
The bad news for AEK is pretty simple: their opponents are the mighty Unicaja.
Put simply, Unicaja are one of the very best basketball teams on the continent. They may have had their record-breaking 18-game win streak ended by Galatasaray in the Round of 16, but they responded by just starting a new run from there and haven't lost again since.
The champs score the most points in the BCL at 94.4 and they do it at a rate of 125 points per 100 possessions. In case you are that familiar with advanced stats, that makes them the most efficient offense in the history of the BCL.
UNICAJA
Semi-Final opponent: AEK
Good news
Do we really need to tell you the good news for Unicaja?
No doubt you are already aware of how good this team is. As we just mentioned, they are only the best offensive team in the history of the BCL and they only set a record this season for the longest run of consecutive wins in BCL history at 18.
But the good news doesn't end there for Ibon Navarro and his team. This is a team who have made winning trophies into a habit.
Since 2010, that's 15 years (!), only twice has a team not called Real Madrid or Barcelona won the Copa del Rey in Spain. On both occasions, that team was called Unicaja, and on both occasions it was this roster, coached by this coach. The first in 2023 and the second was this season in 2025.
The trophy winning doesn't end there either.
As you well know, they are the current holders of the BCL trophy, but they added to that this season with not only the Copa del Rey, but also the Spanish Supercopa and the Intercontinental Cup.
If they were to become the second team since Hereda San Pablo Burgos to go back-to-back, Unicaja would do so on the back of a quadruple winning season.
Bad news
The bad news - and trust me, there isn't much - is that Ibon Navarro doesn't have great memories of Final Fours in Athens.
That's not to say that third place wasn't an outstanding achievement for Navarro's UCAM Murcia team. On the contrary, that tournament was really the season when he started to build his reputation as one of the premier, up-and-coming coaches on the continent.
However, there is no escaping the pain of that loss, with AEK only just squeezing past 77-75 on the night, with Sadiel Rojas unable to really create space for a shot to win the game with five seconds left on the clock.
This, however, isn't the same Ibon Navarro, and this Unicaja squad certainly isn't 2018 UCAM Murcia.
Perhaps the only thing standing in their way is their own emotional fatigue from winning so many trophies and playing so many games.
The last time they won the Copa del Rey, they didn't quite have the emotional stamina to get over the line in the BCL. Will they have the endurance this time around?
LA LAGUNA TENERIFE
Semi-Final opponent: Galatasaray
Good news
Six Final Fours in nine seasons for Tenerife. Six Final Fours in eight seasons for Txus Vidorreta.
And now, Tenerife have just become the first team to Qualify for the Final Four unbeaten all season. Let that sink in and marinade for a bit...
Without question, Tenerife are the most successful club in BCL history and Txus Vidorreta is the most successful coach in BCL history.
But now, if they were to win their third BCL trophy, they are both in the process of putting together the best season in BCL history. I'm not really sure what else there is to say here.
Ok, so there is a bit more to say here. 84.4 points per game at a rate of 124 points per 100 possessions, +20 points per 100 possessions better than their opponents all season, 50 percent from the field, and 63 percent true shooting percentage.
Put simply, La Laguna Tenerife are a machine, but you already knew that.
Bad news
For all their greatness and for all the Final Fours they have reached, Tenerife are yet to win a Final outside Spain.
In 2017, they won the inaugural BCL title on home soil. In 2019 it was second place to Virtus Bologna in Antwerp.
In 2022, it was title number two in Bilbao. In 2023 it was third place in Malaga, and last year it was second again in Belgrade.
A club like Tenerife will surely find a way to end this unwanted record outside of Spain. The question is, will it be this year?
Galatasaray
Semi-Final opponent: La Laguna Tenerife
Good news
The good news is that they have finally done it. It may have taken them five seasons but CimBomBom have finally delivered on the promise and made it to the BCL Final Four, powered by SUNEL.
It may not have been clear from the start of the season that this was the Galatasaray roster to do it, in fact, they didn't top their group in the Regular Season, nor did they top their group in the Round of 16.
In truth, it actually took the loss of Otis Livingston to injury in late February, to force other players on the roster to step up into different roles before Gala truly found their identity this season.
That injury loss meant that James Palmer Jr needed to handle the ball more and the likes of Will Cummings and Tyrone Wallace needed to be even more aggressive offensively from the point guard position and essentially turned Galatasaray into a matchup nightmare for their opponents in pretty much every position on the floor.
It also made space on the roster for the arrival of Rob Gray. Since landing in Istanbul, Gray has put up 14 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds on a frankly outrageous 57 percent shooting clip from downtown.
They may not have been the best team in the BCL all season, but as AEK can tell you from their late run to the title in 2018, you only need to be the best team in the BCL for one game to win the title and right now Galatasaray certainly believe they are the best team in the BCL.
And so they should.
Bad news
The bad news is pretty simple because the bad news is La Laguna Tenerife. Txus and the gang have an excellent record against Turkish clubs in the BCL. They have only lost two games in all nine seasons of the competition and won the other 14.
Of those two losses, only one was outside the Regular Season when they won the Play-Ins series against Karsiyaka in Season 5, but needed three games to do it.
The odds will certainly be against Gala for this one but based on their season so far, they might just prefer it that way.