In 2026, the BCL Final Four was held in Badalona, where once again two Spanish teams—which typically dominate the competition—made the cut, but this time both Unicaja and Tenerife were defeated by AEK and Rytas, respectively. In the grand final, the Lithuanians were crowned champions after overtime, winning 86-92, having come back from a 20-point deficit. Simonas Lukosius was named MVP of the Final Four.
The BCL maintains its playoff format of best-of-three quarterfinals and a Final Four to determine the champion.
Quarterfinals
Unicaja Málaga – ALBA Berlín (2-0)
AEK Atenas – Joventut (2-1)
Rytas – Nymburk (2-0)
Tenerife – Galatasaray (2-1)
Semifinals
Unicaja Málaga 65 – AEK Atenas 78
Rytas 87 – Tenerife 69
Rytas Vilnius was crowned champion of the Basketball Champions League after defeating AEK Athens 86-92 in a spectacular final that went into overtime. The Lithuanian team, coached by Giedrius Zibenas, staged a memorable comeback at the Olímpic in Badalona after trailing for most of the game. Simonis Lukosius was the hero of the title run with 23 points and a decisive 7-for-10 from three-point range.
AEK had the trophy practically in their hands. The Greeks dominated from the start, fueled by the accuracy of Frank Bartley and a stellar James Nunnally, who also finished with 23 points. At halftime, they held a clear lead (42-25) and even enjoyed leads nearing twenty points in the third quarter, controlling the boards and capitalizing on Rytas’s poor outside shooting.
However, the Lithuanian team never stopped believing. Led by Speedy Smith, Harding, and a Lukosius in top form, the Vilnius squad gradually closed the gap until they forced overtime with a decisive three-pointer by Lukosius himself. In overtime, energy and confidence completely turned the game around, and Rytas ended up completing a historic comeback to win the BCL in Badalona.
Rytas Vilnius 92
*Smith – 11p, 8r, 9a
*Sargiunas – 4p, 4r
*Paliukenas – 2p, 2a
*Bruhnke – 10p, 12r
*Gudaitis – 9p, 5r
Harding – 16p, 6a
Marciulionis – 4p, 4a
Lukosius – 23p, 4r
Masiulis – 8p
Caroline – 4p, 1r
Echodas – 1p
AEK Atenas 86
*Bartley – 20p, 4a
*Flionis – 0p, 3r
*Charalampoulos – 5p, 5r
*Gray – 9p, 6r
*Feazell – 15p, 8r
Lekavicius – 8p, 1a
Katsivelis – 2p, 1a
Nunnally – 23p, 6r
Brown – 4p, 6r
Skordilis –
Arsenopoulos –
Kuzminskas –
