The Merengues, the most successful in the competition, were led by four lengths with 45 seconds left (78-74), before a winning shot by Sergio Rodriguez (15 pts) and the basket of Llull who had not scored a point of the game.

The two grognards of this Real who takes revenge of the final last year, lost against Efes Istanbul (59-58).

"We were lucky on that last shot, but that's basketball," Madrid coach Chus Mateo said.

The point of difference this time is in his favor and has silenced the 5,000 or so noisy Piraeus fans, all dressed in red, stunned at the final whistle.

After the last failed attempt of their hero Kostas Sloukas - author of the shot of the victory of Game 3 in the quarters against Fenerbahçe - in this Zalgirio Arena that they were the only ones to heat during this weekend of Final Four, booing the opponents and singing to the glory of their heroes.

The miraculous Real

Real are almost miraculous after overcoming their two opening defeats at home in the quarter-finals against Partizan Belgrade, then trailing 5 points early in the third quarter.

Madrid's Walter Tavares (l) and Mario Hezonja win the Euroleague, May 21, 2023 in Kaunas © PETRAS MALUKAS /

"We have had our ups and downs this season, which is very difficult but ends in a happy ending. I'm very proud of these guys, they stayed together when things were going badly, always believed they could win, never surrendered despite injuries, defeats. The harder it is, the more we fight," Mateo said.

The series against Partizan was marked by a general brawl in Game 2 after a gross foul of.. Llull on Kevin Punter.

Result: 21 exclusions, match stopped less than 1 min 40 sec of the term and, a posteriori, dynamic stopped for the Partizan, deprived for two meetings of its American leader and for one of its French pivot Mathias Lessort, two key pieces.

Llull was not sanctioned unlike Guerschon Yabusele, who consequently watched the coronation of his teammates in civilian clothes on Sunday, such as Vincet Poirier (injured). These two absences inside forced the Real coach to tinker tactically.

"(The series against Partizan) is a turning point" of the Madrid season, according to Fabien Causeur, all happy in the mixed zone wearing the white cap of the 11th title like his teammates. All were congratulated in the dressing room by Florentino Perez, the president of Real.

"We give everything"

"We showed a lot of heart and +cojones+. This is our mentality: it passes or it does not pass but we give everything not to have regrets. Basketball is often generous when you give everything," added the French full-back, essential to keep his team afloat before the final (11 points including 3/5 from long distance).

And who had the task of defending on Sloukas in the last action.

Madrid's Nigel Williams-Goss (l) scores Olympiacos player Thomas Walkup in the Euroleague final, May 21, 2023 in Kaunas © PETRAS MALUKAS /

The disappointment is great for Olympiacos, which is still waiting for its fourth crown (after 1997, 2012 and 2013) and loses since its last title ten years ago its third final (after 2015 and 2017 against the... Real).

Thus continues a curse: since the introduction of a single pool in 2016, never had the first of the regular season been crowned European champion.

The Olympiacos of French pivot Moustapha Fall was close to breaking it, carried by its strong winger Sacha Vezenkov, MVP of the regular season and author of 29 points Sunday in the final. But he watched the Spaniards celebrate their eleventh crown.

It's a painful feeling, I'm sad also for the fans," said Greek coach Georgios Bartzokas. We also lost (to Efes Istanbul) on a +buzzer beater+ in the semi-finals last year."

© 2023 AFP