Go hard today: a new champion to be crowned on Thursday night
- marisnoviks
- Apr 23
- 3 min read
The biggest day of the season has come. The fifth champion of the ENBL will be crowned after a final between the first time finalists Manchester Basketball (10-2) and Dziki Warszawa (9-3). Tipoff at 20 Central European Time, while the bronze duel between the 2025 German Cup winners SYNTAINICS MBC (10-2) and the 2025 champions CSO Voluntari (10-2) will start at 17.
Series history: Manchester Basketball and Dziki Warszawa will face each other for the first time.
Thursday, April 23, marks the third time when a team from Poland plays in the ENBL final.
Anwil Wloclawek won the inaugural title in 2022, followed by Stal Ostrow success in 2023.
It`s also the second time when a team from the United Kingdom will play for the title.
Marc Steutel and Newcastle Eagles reached the 2025 final in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Both teams – Manchester Basketball and Dziki Warszawa – will play in their first European final.
Manchester Basketball finished second in Pool Two with a 6-2 record to earn Seed Five.
Matthew Otten and his men eliminated #12 Dubrava Zagreb in the first round of the playoffs, 94-92.
Manchester Basketball won the quarterfinal series against #4 Dinamo Zagreb, winning at home, 86-84, and on the road, 97-94.
The British club earned a boarding pass to its first European Final Four and posted a 89-86 comeback win against the hosts, #1 SYNTAINICS MBC.
Dziki Warszawa finished third in Pool Three with a 5-3 record to earn Seed Seven.
The Wild eliminated the 2026 Latvia and Estonia league champions Valmiera Glass ViA, 97-84, in the first round of the playoffs.
Dziki won the quarterfinal series against the two time Greece champions, #2 Iraklis BC, first winning at home, 89-82, and then on the road, 84-83.
Last but not least, Marco Legovich and his men defeated the 2025 champions, #3 CSO Voluntari, 87-80, to advance to the title game.
Leaders: Max Jones has 224 points in 12 games, he averages 18.7 points and 2.6 assists.
Point guard Jordan Johnson averages 15.0 points and 5.1 assists.
Donovan Mitchell scored 12 points in his ENBL debut on Wednesday.
Tahlik Chavez had 21 points for Dziki Warszawa in semifinal, including a perfect 4/4 salvo from the three point line.
Landrius Horton scored 19 points and grabbed six rebounds.
Darnell Edge scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half.
Know your referees
Crew chief: Marius Ciulin (Romania) – FIBA referee from 2003, one of the Top FIBA referees, has worked at four EuroBaskets, four Women`s EuroBaskets, two EuroLeague Women Final Fours, one Basketball Champions league Final Four, the 2025 and 2026 ENBL Final Four.
Umpire 1: Andris Aunkrogers (Latvia) – FIBA referee from 2005, has worked at many major events, including the 2019 FIBA World Cup, the 2023 FIBA World Cup, EuroBasket 2022, EuroBasket 2025, Elite and Basketball Champions league referee from 2016; third ENBL Final Four appearance (2022, 2025, 2026).
Umpire 2: Jonaš Kavan (Czechia) – MAXA NBL referee last three seasons, has been working in Czech competitions from 2017, has worked at two Chance ŽBL finals, ENBL referee from 2023.
Observer: Oskars Lucis (Latvia).
SYNTAINICS MBC vs CSO Voluntari
Series history: SYNTAINICS MBC will face CSO Voluntari for the second time.
The Wolves lost at CSO Voluntari, 83-87, on February 11, 2026, suffering their first defeat of the season.
Know your referees
Crew chief: Bogna Podkowinska (Poland) – Basket Liga Kobiet referee from 2018, Orlen PLK referee from 2022, FIBA referee from 2023, ENBL referee from 2023, has worked at the Alpe Adria Cup (AAC) from 2018.
Umpire 1: Simon Unsworth (United Kingdom) – FIBA referee from 2010, British Basketball referee from 1999.
Umpire 2: Teo Miletic (Croatia) – FIBA referee from 2023, Premijer league referee from 2021.
Observer: Mareks Voļskis (Latvia).
2026 Final Four schedule, Central European Time
Wednesday, April 22, semifinals
CSO Voluntari 80-87 Dziki Warszawa
SYNTAINICS MBC 86-89 Manchester Basketball
Thursday, April 23, medal games
17:00 SYNTAINICS MBC – CSO Voluntari
20:00 Manchester Basketball – Dziki Warszawa
Broadcaster: TVCOM
Commentator: Drew Lasker
The ENBL final sounds thrilling—first-time finalists always make for an exciting matchup! I love following the stats and history behind these teams. For a quick mental break between checking schedules and scores, I play Crossy Road, an arcade game where you guide characters across roads and rivers. It’s fast, fun, and gives me a little adrenaline rush, which oddly mirrors the excitement of a championship game