By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
The EuroLeague postseason atmosphere has intensified to an electric level as three of the competition’s greatest icons, Theo Papaloukas, Dimitris Diamantidis, and Giorgos Printezis, shared their expert insights and predictions for the upcoming Playoffs.
Joining Giorgos Lentzas in a special session of the EuroLeague Legends by Stoiximan, the legendary trio broke down the four matchups, selecting a winner and predicting series duration for Olympiacos versus AS Monaco, Valencia versus Panathinaikos Aktor, Real Madrid versus Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv, and Fenerbahce Beko versus Zalgiris.
With the ultimate goal of being at the 2026 EuroLeague Final Four Athens, presented by Etihad, at the Telekom Center Athens from May 22 to 24, for the remaining championship contenders, the legends provided a fascinating glimpse into how they expect these best-of-five series to unfold.
There was nearly unanimous consent regarding the dominance of the top seeds. Both Printezis and Papaloukas foresee a clinical sweep for Olympiacos over Monaco, while Diamantidis expects the French side to steal at least one game before the Reds clinch the series 3-1. Similarly, all three legends favor Fener to overcome Zalgiris, and Real Madrid to withstand the challenge of Hapoel, though they anticipate these series will be hard-fought, likely extending to four or five games.
The most debated clash involves the matchup between Valencia and Panathinaikos. While Diamantidis and Printezis remained loyal to the Greek giants, predicting a Panathinaikos advancement in four or five games, Papaloukas initially sparked controversy by picking Valencia to win the series 3-1. However, he later softened his stance, admitting his prediction might be more of a tactical observation than a certainty.
|
Matchup |
Dimitris Diamantidis |
Giorgos Printezis |
Theo Papaloukas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olympiacos – Monaco | 3-1 | 3-0 | 3-0 |
| Valencia – Panathinaikos | 2-3 | 1-3 | 3-1 |
| Fenerbahce – Zalgiris | 3-2 | 3-1 | 3-1 |
| Real Madrid – Hapoel Tel Aviv | 3-1 | 3-2 | 3-2 |
The series openers are scheduled to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday.