By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Bilbao is the FIBA Europe Cup champion for the 2025/26 season, after defeating PAOK 84-69 in the second leg of the final.
The final was played over two matches, with the team scoring more points overall declared the winner. Thus, Bilbao claimed the trophy by overcoming a 6-point deficit from the first game.
Margiris Normantas led the Spaniards to the title with 17 points, Darrun Hilliard added one less, Luke Petrasek scored 14, and Melwin Pantzar 13. On the other side, Breein Tyree had 19 points, Tomas Dimsa 13, and Ben Moore 11. Patrick Beverley finished the match with nine points, six rebounds, and three assists.
PAOK started the match better and held the lead for most of the first half. However, Bilbao turned it around and went into the break with a two-point advantage (43-41).
We saw a close game until the score was 57-53, when the home team went on a 23-5 run. Bilbao pulled away to a +22 lead (80-58) and comfortably closed out the game to secure the trophy.
In this way, Bilbao claimed the trophy they had won last year when they also defeated PAOK. Last season, the aggregate score was 154-149 in favor of the Spaniards.