Valencia Basket had every reason to believe. They completed the most improbable run of the postseason, overcoming a 0–2 deficit against Panathinaikos to reach the club's first-ever Final Four. They had momentum, a full roster, and a city experiencing something it had never felt before.
Real Madrid had experience. And in Athens, that was enough.
Real Madrid defeated Valencia 105–90 in a game that was close for exactly one quarter. Valencia led 28–26 after the first. Then Real went on a 0–14 run and the game was effectively over.
The numbers tell the story cleanly. 48 rebounds against 31 — Real owned the glass completely, which matters doubly when you have no center. 21 free throws made from 25 attempts against Valencia's 6 from 9 — composure under pressure, the hallmark of a team that has been here before. And a PIR of 124 against 101 — the aggregate efficiency gap across every action in the game.
Hezonja led all scorers with 25 points and 7 rebounds. Lyles added 17, Deck scored 16 with 8 rebounds, and Feliz contributed 15 points and 8 assists. Four different players, four different roles, all showing up on the same night. That's not luck. That's depth. Real Madrid CF
Real played without Tavares, Alex Len, and Omer Yurtseven. Three centers, all absent. Scariolo acknowledged the scale of it: "We've had to completely reinvent ourselves."
This was the seventh time the two teams met this season, with Real leading the season series 4–2. Valencia won their home game. Real won theirs. In Athens, with everything on the line, there was no home court. Just experience against belief. USbasket
Experience won.
