Champions League: AEK – Rytas 09/05/2026

Experience, roster depth, and superior individual quality could give AEK the edge in the final against a tricky Rytas side.

Betting on the Asian handicap

Spanish clubs have dominated this competition for years, so it was expected that one of their representatives would lift the trophy again this season, especially considering that the Final Four is being played in Spain.

However, host side Joventut failed to reach the Final Four, while favored Unicaja and Tenerife, both two-time champions of the competition, were eliminated already in the semifinals. As a result, the final will feature two non-Spanish teams that entered their semifinal matchups as underdogs.

In the first semifinal, Rytas completely outplayed Tenerife and secured an 87:69 victory. The Lithuanian side imposed extremely aggressive perimeter defense from the opening minutes, completely disrupting the rhythm of the Spanish team. Veteran Marcelinho Huertas was the only productive player for Tenerife, but without enough support from his teammates he could not prevent a comfortable win for the opponent.

A similar scenario unfolded in the second semifinal, where AEK comfortably defeated Unicaja 78:65. The Greek side controlled the game practically from start to finish, and the winner was decided well before the final quarter. Frank Bartley once again delivered an excellent performance with 16 points, while experienced veterans Lukas Lekavičius and James Nunnally also made significant contributions.

This will be AEK’s third appearance at the Final Four of this competition, and interestingly, during their title-winning run in 2018 they were also coached by the experienced Dušan Sakota. It seems that the Greek side has an ideal opportunity to repeat that success this season.

AEK has a very experienced roster filled with players who have enjoyed serious European careers and won trophies at the highest level. The arrival of former EuroLeague champion James Nunnally has been particularly important, bringing additional quality and stability on the offensive end.

Although Rytas has shown that they can be a very dangerous opponent, the impression is that AEK is the stronger and more complete team, with greater experience in games like this and much more consistent performances throughout the season.