ATHENS. Giorgos Bartzokas emotionally celebrated the title won by Olympiacos after defeating Real Madrid (92-85) in the EuroLeague final played at the Telekom Center Athens. The Greek head coach highlighted the suffering, pressure, and consistency of his team throughout the season to explain a conquest that returns the Greek club to the top of Europe thirteen years later.
"I feel great. We deserved it," Bartzokas said after the game. "Today we suffered. Real Madrid played an excellent game. That's why they're a huge club. But we managed to win, even though all the pressure was on our shoulders."
The Olympiacos head coach thus won his second EuroLeague title as a coach, after the one achieved in 2013, and wanted to highlight the complete journey of the team during the 2025-26 season. "I think we deserved it for how we played throughout the year, in the Playoffs and in the Final Four," he said. "Congratulations to the owners, to the club, to the fans, to everyone."
The victory marks the fourth continental title for Olympiacos, in their fifteenth appearance in a Final Four, and it came in a particularly symbolic setting: the court of their eternal rival.
One of the key tactical points of the game was the defense on Trey Lyles, who punished Olympiacos in the first half and finished the game with 24 points. Bartzokas explained how his team adjusted after halftime to stop the Real Madrid power forward. "That's what we said at halftime. We defended with switches on him and, in some situations, we set traps," he detailed.