By Giorgos Orfanakis / info@eurohoops.net
The Spaniards count 9 EuroLeague trophies, more than any other team, but only two of those (1995, 2015) have come in the era when the champions emerge through a Final Four, that is, from 1988 until today.
Pablo Laso and his players want to celebrate another win and follow up on their excellent performances in recent years that rightfully place Real in the elite of European basketball.
Athens 1993: 4th place
The Real Madrid team of the one and only Arvydas Sabonis travelled to Athens with the aim of winning the trophy, but they came up against the subsequent champions Limoges, and as a result they were knocked out in the semifinal (62-52). The Lithuanian center’s double-double (19 points, 10 rebounds) wasn’t enough to prevent defeat since the hard game and the defense of the French made the difference.
Two days later, the Spaniards were defeated again by PAOK (76-70) and finished fourth in a Final Four that left them a bitter taste.
In the third place game, Sabonis (14 points, 18 rebounds) was once again the one who stood out for Real but PAOK, with Barlow (20 points) their top player, won the… consolation game in front of the Greek audience.
Zaragoza 1995: 1st place
Real Madrid’s payback for the lost semifinal of 1993 came two years later, playing against Limoges! The protagonist for the Spaniards was once again Arvydas Sabonis, who – with 21 points and 9 rebounds – shined for his team and sent them to the big final by winning 62-49.
In this particular Final Four, Zeljko Obradovic’s Real Madrid was made to celebrate the title and they proved it in an emphatic way in the final against Olympiacos! The strong start, the bad percentages of the Red-and-whites, and the quality of Arlauckas (16 points, 4 rebounds) and Sabonis (23 points, 7 rebounds), made the difference and, as a result, the Whites were the champions when the game expired (73-61).
Real were now at the top for the first time after the 1979-80 season and, as is natural, this particular success was wildly celebrated, when this was the club’s eighth European title in total.
Paris 1996: 4th place
Almost 365 days after winning the EuroLeague, Real once again returned to the Final Four in Paris aiming for the repeat, but the dream turned into a nightmare pretty quickly.
The catastrophic second half in the Spanish “civil war” against Barcelona proved decisive and so the Whites missed the opportunity to be in the big final and play for the trophy against subsequent champions, Panathinaikos.
Zeljko Obradovic no longer had Arvydas Sabonis at his disposal as he had left for the NBA, while the efforts of Arlauckas (22 points) and Savic (15 points) in the semifinal proved inadequate. The big goal was now lost and two days later Real was again defeated (74-73) by CSKA Moscow, which resulted in them finishing in fourth place.
Barcelona 2011: 4th place
Real Madrid’s qualification for a Final Four for the first time after almost 15 years of absence can be considered as a success on its own, but the Whites, in front of a Spanish crowd, were after something more.
This, however, never materialized, as in the second semifinal against Maccabi, Lele Molin’s players were not as good as the occasion called for and were easily defeated by 82-63. In fact, the unsuccessful attempt at winning the title was completed in the worst possible way two days later, when Siena got a comfortable 80-62 win.
London 2013: 2nd place
Starting with the Final Four in London, Real Madrid embarked on a three-year period that was full of emotions, big wins but also painful defeats.
The start was made with the… Spanish semifinal of 2013 against Barcelona, where – thanks to an excellent fourth quarter but also Llull (13 points), Sergio (12 points, 9 assists) and Reyes (17 points, 5 rebounds) – Pablo Laso and his players got a big qualification by winning 74-67.
The next – and as it turned out, quite tall – hurdle on the way to winning the title was Olympiacos. The big final started in the most ideal way since the Whites got a big lead from early on with the score at 27-10, but then they sustained an unprecedented outbreak from the Red-and-whites, who managed to score 90 points in three quarters and win the trophy.