ATHENS (Greece) - When Galatasaray players were expressing their joy in the mixed zone after having beaten La Laguna Tenerife in the first Semi-Final of the day in the Basketball Champions League Final Four, powered by SUNEL, it was difficult to hear their words.
Why? Well, because AEK Betsson BC fans were already chanting as loudly as possible, pushing their players for the upcoming most important game of the season: the BCL Semi-Final against Unicaja, a full hour before tip-off.
Their deafening support surely didn't stop after the tip-off; however, the reigning champions did once again overcome an immensely tough challenge, winning in a hostile atmosphere and breaking AEK's eight-game winning streak at home in the BCL.
They won 71-65, celebrating with the corner of purple-and-green fans in a sea of black-and-gold.
They will now face Galatasaray for the first time in this BCL season to fight for a back-to-back success. Only one team in history did so, a Spanish team: San Pablo Burgos in 2020 and 2021.
Turning point
Despite the rocking loudness of AEK fans on the sell-out stands of SUNEL Arena, Unicaja were able to contain the home-side enthusiasm, especially doing an excellent job defending in transition.
Most importantly, they were limiting the hosts' leading scorer of the season, Hunter Hale, to a scoreless performance in the first half. Only once this season had he been scoreless at halftime in a BCL game.
AEK desperately needed the contribution of #77 if they wanted to have a chance.
Driving in fastbreak towards the basket, he finally broke the ice to tie at 42-42 with five minutes to play in the third quarter. From then on, his team showed a completely different face, entering a 9-2 run.
If that looked like the turning point to inspire AEK's victory in front of their fans, however, there was another one to make Unicaja react and go all the way until the final buzzer.
Following one of AEK's 19 turnovers, Dylan Osetkowski splashed in the three-pointer to give Ibon Navarro's team the lead once more at 62-61. The hosts didn't find any more openings, Unicaja's defense kept them to just 10 fourth-quarter points.
Game hero
Just like in the first Semi-Final of this season's Basketball Champions League Final Four, powered by SUNEL, a big man heavily supported his team's win.
Following Ebuka Izundu for Galatasaray, Dylan Osetkowski was the decisive asset for Unicaja in finding another shot at the title in the Championship Game.
He finished with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds, overcoming a tough opponent like Grant Golden, who still had a losing effort of 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.
It was only the second double-double of Osetkowski's BCL career. The first one? Also against a Greek team, as he had 12 and 12 against Promitheas Patras in April 2024.
Also, Kameron Taylor had a crucial game-changing block just before Unicaja's final run. "That was a game-changer, really. They were up seven, we got an and-one, and we got close. That block motivated us, it was a very important moment of the game. We've seen Kam make these plays before," Yankuba Sima said.
Stats don't lie
To defeat the reigning champs, you need to be under control offensively, with a more-than-average shooting day from beyond the arc.
AEK had none of those, turning the ball over 19 times, allowing Unicaja to open up a 27-13 advantage in points from turnovers, while shooting 1-of-10 from beyond the arc.
Bottom line
It was an incredible atmosphere in what will be written as 9,000 fans in the arena, but it felt like there were many more, replicating the circumstances from the OAKA Final in 2018, when 18,000 fans packed the stands.
To come out on top in such an environment is a true testament of Unicaja's strength, as they look to become back-to-back champions.
On the other side, AEK were so close, suffering only their first home defeat of the season. Golden was incredible, but it was not enough against such a powerful side.
In fact, AEK's 65 points scored were the lowest points total in a BCL game for them since scoring 65 against Unicaja in March 2023.
They said
"We got a terrible night in shooting from outside, and despite this, we were able to find the energy. We took some risks on our defense to control their backcourt. It's not about them making 1-of-10 from deep, it's the 10 shots that they attempted, which talks great about our defense. In the third quarter, the problem was our offense, they got that push from the stands. We have been in these situations many times: when you know how to suffer, you get more chances to win games." - Unicaja head coach Ibon Navarro
"This group has been together for three years, we know each other. We got terrible night shooting from outside, but the best example for what this game has been happened with Tyson Carter, who got four steals in those three minutes. The team understood we weren't winning by making shots, the only way was to limit their shots from the backcourt. We made some mistakes, but the team trusted our defensive game plan. It's not easy, and we did a good job tonight." - Navarro again
"Yesterday, we watched the first 12 minutes of Game 3 against Nanterre. We had to know what we would have found tonight, and it would have been even louder. I want to congratulate AEK for the organization and for the season. This atmosphere is not easy to find in any competition in Europe; they have been respectful with us and our fans." - still Navarro
"They have so much talent that if you don't pay attention, they can kill you. That's why it was very important for us to concentrate for 40 minutes. That talks great to all the team to know exactly what we have to do." - also Navarro
"I feel like at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth, they got the energy and confidence of their fans. We responded pretty well; we've been in this situation before. That helped us stay poised. We did a great job executing on offense. We had a lot of second chances in the last quarter. It was a great environment, especially for what was on the table. The fans showed up, you could definitely feel the environment. It's one of the best I've ever witnessed." - Yankuba Sima, Unicaja
"It was a fantastic atmosphere, of course, fans gave us the energy not to lose the game if they were supposed to win. They had 18 offensive rebounds, we had 19 turnovers. But they are a team that averages 94 points on offense, they finished with 71. 12 players changing every three to four minutes, in the end, we were looking like a car without wheels. I told my players I was not disappointed, it's not easy to be happy losing the game." - AEK Betsson BC head coach Dragan Sakota
"He won five trophies in one season, which tells everything. He was a good coach in Murcia and Andorra. But the real opportunity that you can get in a bigger club, he got the chance and did a great job. Everything is high standard and highly competitive, like Barcelona and Real Madrid. We face a team that doesn't have this experience. They play the ACB, which is a tough league. We don't have it. We face Olympiacos once and Panathinaikos once. That's all." - Sakota about Navarro
"Obviously, they are a really good team. We needed the perfect game to beat them. Too many turnovers and a couple of open shots, they are experienced in this competition. We didn't quit, just like we have done for the whole season." - Grant Golden, AEK Betsson BC