“Cheer up Usman.” Real Madrid players wore t-shirts with a message of support for Garuba before the match. The center had left the white team’s hotel shortly before in a wheelchair and with a Walker boot on his left leg after the serious injury he suffered in the semifinals against Valencia. Pending the definitive diagnosis, the club fears a long-term absence, possibly due to the Achilles tendon. He was the third center to go down in less than a month after the injuries of Tavares (knee) and Alex Len (plantar fascia), a sequence of misfortunes that left Scariolo’s team very physically weakened for such a tough duel as the European Cup final against Olympiacos in Athens.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OLY | 19 | 27 | 15 | 31 | 92 |
| RMA | 26 | 18 | 21 | 20 | 85 |
The 16 fewer rebounds grabbed by the whites (42-26) reflected that difference in centimeters and muscle that the white coach, Sergio Scariolo, considered the “decisive factor” to explain the defeat at OAKA. “Obviously that made a huge difference. The physical inequality was evident and credit must be given to Olympiacos because they knew how to exploit it and they grabbed 12 offensive rebounds from us. We couldn’t respond to that,” analyzed the Italian coach.
Made for the biggest stage, @mariohezonja making it look effortless! #F4GLORY pic.twitter.com/bAk8bur1PE
— EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) May 24, 2026
The match followed the script that Scariolo had anticipated the day before. “Physically they can crush us. By character, we will resist,” he had warned. And so it was. The white players ended up melted against Milutinov and company but showed a mental strength with which they came close to a feat such as beating Olympiacos at OAKA without big centers. “The fans put a lot of pressure on the court and I can only value my players, not only for the effort but for playing great basketball. We shared the ball, fought and competed. No one saw us in the final at the beginning of the season or halfway through. We have been climbing and growing. You only have to see how difficult it is to reach the playoffs, how many teams are left out, the two big teams that have not been in the final… There are more and more teams in the lottery of those who invest more to win and be contenders. We must be aware that it will be increasingly difficult. We have to be clear about that or we will make mistakes. We must regroup.”
Scariolo did not want to use the refereeing in the last seconds, with a series of very close decisions that almost always went in favor of Olympiacos, as an excuse despite the obvious hostile atmosphere: “In a final like this you know you have to pay a tax, small or large.”
Madrid has lost the three finals it has played this season. In the Supercup against Valencia, in the Cup against Baskonia, and in the Euroleague against Olympiacos. The only major title missing in Scariolo’s museum has slipped away from the coach in his first European Cup final and now the coach must roll up his sleeves to rebuild the team to fight for the League title after a great regular season.
“I have been concerned that the team does not lower its head too much, a little yes, but not too much, there is no reason for it and the more you lower it the longer it takes to raise it. We need to raise our heads very, very soon. But it is not just about mentality, but basketball. How to compete with a different roster than the one we had and physical and technical issues because the ACB does not forgive. No one is shocked or takes pity on you. You have to move forward. With your head held high,” Scariolo requested. The ACB playoffs are just around the corner.
