ATHENS (Greece) - The Basketball Champions League Championship Game has seen several representatives from different countries go at each other, but the matchups between teams from Spain and Türkiye are now starting to become a trend with the title on the line.

After the wins grabbed by Tenerife and San Pablo Burgos in 2017 and 2021 over Bandirma and Karsiyaka, respectively, fans at the SUNEL Arena in Athens witnessed the third victory by Spaniards over a Turkish team in a BCL Final.

Unicaja didn't have a one-way street to capture the Basketball Champions League title once again, as Galatasaray continuously fought to try to disappoint the reigning champions.

However, for the second time in competition history, we have back-to-back champions, with Unicaja joining Hereda San Pablo Burgos as the only teams capable of doing so.

After beating Tenerife in Belgrade, they took down Galatasaray in Athens, winning 83-67 in front of a loud representation of green-and-purple supporters.

After the FIBA Intercontinental Cup, the Supercopa Endesa, and the Copa del Rey, Ibon Navarro's team brought home to Andalucia the fourth trophy of the season.

Ibon Navarro is the third coach to have reached the title game on multiple occasions (also Txus Vidorreta and Joan Penarroya), while Yakup Sekizkok was in his first BCL title game.

When Galatasaray tried to fight back, Unicaja always had an answer. Basically, like it has happened for the past two seasons, except for that win in Istanbul by the red-and-yellow lions.

While Tyson Perez did it all in the second quarter, following the first reaction by Yakup Sekizkok, collecting tough plays close to the basket, Kameron Taylor followed in the third, and David Kravish had the three-point icing on the cake to enter the fourth quarter.

With Galatasaray taking the lead for only less than three minutes at the beginning of the game, it's difficult to find turning points. Or better yet: Unicaja made sure they were avoided at first, in advance.

You can put more pressure on them, scare them, put them in difficult positions. But Unicaja proved once again, in the biggest game of the whole campaign, to be superior in so many aspects, thanks to the wide range of options on their bench.

It's a team effort, and it's not a surprise.

If Kendrick Perry sinks in a clutch three to put you up by 9 with seven to play in his first possession back after quite some time on the bench, game is more than half done.

It became fully done with Tyler Kalinoski scoring five consecutive points with five minutes to play, putting Unicaja up by 12 points with a three off the screen and a midrange shot off the dribble.

Any idea of a miraculous comeback vanished with a 2+1 play later on, when Yankuba Sima wrote game over, once and for all.

Could it be the 2025 BCL Final Four, powered by SUNEL Most Valuable Player Tyson Carter, who led the whole team in scoring with 14 points?

Could it be Alberto Diaz, who proved why he was named Defensive Player of the Year once again with a magnificent defensive effort, drawing three charges in the first half alone?

Or it could be Kendrick Perry (13 points), Dylan Osetkowski (9 points and 5 rebounds), Tyson Perez (13 points and 11 rebounds). There are a lot of potential game heroes who contributed to Unicaja's second consecutive success in the Basketball Champions League.

The most significant of all, however, sits on the bench and is named Ibon Navarro. The third coach able to reach the BCL Championship Game on multiple occasions is the man behind another BCL title for Unicaja.

Unicaja has made sure we could enjoy their dominance night in and night out in the past few years, and usually they don't disappoint their fans when things are going in their favorite direction: win.

Already gaining an 11-point lead at the beginning of the second quarter, they knew they had on their side a statistical advantage, having won 42 of their previous 43 BCL games when leading by 10+ points.

Moreover, Unicaja proved to be superior in several statistics. They forced Galatasaray to 14 turnovers, scoring 17 points out of them, while committing only six; they outplayed their opponents in two-point percentages (51.11% vs 38.71%). They led for 34:22 minutes, and stats don't lie.

After never reaching the Basketball Champions League Quarter-Finals in their first four seasons participating in the competition, Galatasaray exceeded everyone's expectations in 2024-25.

Not only did they qualify for their first-ever BCL Final Four, powered by SUNEL, but they also got to the Championship Game by beating one of the best and most recognized BCL teams, La Laguna Tenerife.

They did so by snapping their undefeated 14-0 run in the competition, overcoming a 15-point deficit.

That speaks volumes about how talented and well-trained the Turkish powerhouse have been this season, despite long-time injuries that led to mandatory roster changes.

This might be only the beginning of a long-term successful run by Galatasaray, who returned to fight for a European trophy for the first time in nine years.

Keeping the core might help, just like counting on the ceaseless support of their beloved fans. The future's roaring for the Turkish lions.

After the 21-point games by Will Cummings (14 points on Sunday) and Ebuka Izundu in the Semi-Finals, the losing effort by the dunk-star Robert Blumbergs (12 points) and Tyrone Wallace (14 points) wasn't enough.