European basketball awards its first title of the season today with the matchup everyone predicted in August. Olympiacos and Real Madrid face off at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi (19:00 CET) in the final of the inaugural EuroLeague SuperCup, four months after their clash in Athens. The Greeks won then. Today Madrid arrives with a new head coach, half a new roster, and a system still under construction.
A new trophy, a familiar rivalry
The competition was approved in July and announced in August: Final Four format, two days, venue at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island, and status as the official inaugural event of the European club season. The bracket was set by recent titles: Olympiacos as 2025-26 EuroLeague champion, Real Madrid as runner-up, Fenerbahce as 2025 champion, and Dubai Basketball as hosts.
The context for Spanish fans adds another layer. Madrid is the only Spanish club in this SuperCup and is not qualified for the Supercopa Endesa, which is being played this same weekend in Badalona with Joventut, Baskonia, Valencia Basket, and Barcelona. It's their first absence from the domestic tournament since 2008, after falling in the quarterfinals of the ACB League. In other words: the only super-champion cup they can lift this September is being played in the Emirates.
Madrid survived its own start
Friday's semifinal was a warning. Xavi Pascual's Dubai came out hot from three-point range and went up 16-4 in six minutes with McKinley Wright IV running the show, stretching the lead to 36-20 before Madrid found its rhythm: a 0-14 run in three minutes, with Tavares growing on offense and the defense tightening with Campazzo, Feliz, and Deck, left halftime at 43-42. Regulation ended 88-88 and overtime was decided by five points from Feliz, a three-pointer from Campazzo for 88-96, and two free throws from Luwawu-Cabarrot for the final 95-98.
Madrid's debut numbers: Tavares posted 20 points and a 22 rating, and Luwawu-Cabarrot 22 and 17 in his official debut; Pradilla, Jantunen, Sarr, and Shulga also made their debuts. Head coach Pedro Martínez left Llull, Procida, Damian Jones, and latest signing Nick Smith Jr. out of the roster. The coach summed up the debut without frills: "We suffered and the team showed capacity to suffer and personality," he said in a press conference, insisting they are still in preseason.
The champion, true to form
Olympiacos reached the final the way it knows best: grinding it out. Fenerbahce led 25-20 in the first quarter, went into halftime 45-43, and entered the final period up 78-69 backed by Shields and Horton-Tucker. Fournier pulled off the comeback and scored the decisive basket in the final minute for 92-90. Fenerbahce had the last chance: Horton-Tucker missed, Key grabbed the offensive rebound, and Baldwin's forced shot was touched by Montero.
Two names for the final. Donta Hall finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Montero contributed 13 off the bench, with Fournier as the leading scorer (19). Bartzokas maintains the championship core and has made tweaks around the edges: the club renewed much of the roster after several veterans departed without touching the championship nucleus, with Montero, Miller-McIntyre, and Mbaye Ndiaye as new additions.
The keys
The paint. Madrid won its semifinal when Tavares dominated inside; Olympiacos, when Hall controlled the boards. That's where it's decided.
The Montero detail. The Dominican was MVP of last season's EuroLeague playoffs with Valencia under Pedro Martínez. Today he plays against him, with the homework done by both sides.
Freshness. Both teams come off playing 45 minutes on Friday; Madrid, moreover, with overtime in their legs and a short rotation due to absences.
The precedents. Olympiacos won 92-85 in the Athens final and claimed their fourth EuroLeague title, with Fournier named MVP of the Athens Final Four. Three years earlier, in Kaunas, Madrid had won the final between the two. The recent single-game history is wide open.