MIES (Switzerland) – The Basketball Champions League Final Four competitors have been confirmed, following the completion of the last Quarter-Finals game on Wednesday evening.
Four (4) clubs have qualified for the next phase of the competition, with three (3) countries and leagues represented.
Those teams are (alphabetically): AEK Betsson BC (Greece), Galatasaray (Türkiye), La Laguna Tenerife (Spain), and Unicaja (Spain).
It is the most prestigious Final Four lineup to date, as all four participants have won major continental events over the past decade.
Galatasaray are vying for their first BCL title, while the other three participants have already lifted the BCL trophy.
The top eight teams from the Round of 16 played the best-of-three series in the Quarter-Finals, with three matchups finishing 2-0, and one going to Game 3:
La Laguna Tenerife vs. Bertram Derthona Basket 2-0 (93-89 OT; 77-64)
ERA Nymburk vs. Galatasaray 0-2 (80-106; 74-90)
AEK Betsson BC vs. Nanterre 92 2-1 (76-69; 70-82; 104-69)
Unicaja vs. Pallacanestro Reggiana 2-0 (105-68; 82-72)
La Laguna Tenerife extended their record to six Basketball Champions League Semi-Finals, and they could potentially become the first team to win the BCL three times, after reaching the throne in 2017 and 2022.
Galatasaray made the BCL Final Four for the first time in their five seasons in this competition, becoming the third Turkish team to reach the Semi-Finals, following Banvit in 2017, and Karsiyaka in 2021.
AEK Betsson BC will be back in the Semi-Finals for the third time, having won the BCL in 2018, and finishing runner-up in 2020.
Unicaja are the defending champions, and this will be their third BCL Final Four in a row. With a potential to win the trophy again, Unicaja could join Hereda San Pablo Burgos as the only other back-to-back champions (2020, 2021).
The Final Four will take place at the SUNEL Arena in Athens, Greece. The Semi-Finals will be played on Friday, May 9, the pairings are as follows:
La Laguna Tenerife vs. Galatasaray
AEK Betsson BC vs. Unicaja
The two winners will then move to the Final, while the defeated teams play the Third Place Game, both on Sunday, May 11.
This will be the third time Athens hosts the season ending tournament. In 2018, AEK lifted the trophy at the OAKA arena, while Hereda San Pablo Burgos won the Final 8 tournament in the same venue in 2020.