Kameron Taylor said he was excited and could not wait for the semifinal to begin as Valencia Basket prepared for Valencia Basket Vs Real Madrid at the OAKA Arena, with the interview coming 24 hours before tipoff. For Taylor, 31, the moment carries extra weight: this is his first Final Four, and he said the chance to play Real Madrid again was one he already knew well.
“I’m excited. As you say, it’s the first Final Four. I can’t wait for the game to start,” Taylor said. He described the matchup as familiar because Valencia Basket and Real Madrid are used to seeing each other, adding that both coaches will arrive with strong plans. Taylor also said Valencia Basket must pay attention to all of Real Madrid’s big players, not only Usman Garuba, and predicted the team would make a big effort on Friday.
The semifinal takes on added edge because Taylor has already been on the winning side against Madrid twice. He beat them with Unicaja Málaga in the 2024 Supercopa and again in the 2025 Copa del Rey, and now he meets them in the 2026 Final Four wearing Valencia colors. That history gives his comments a sharper point: this is not an unfamiliar opponent, but a familiar one with enough size and talent to punish any lapse.
Valencia’s place in the Final Four came after a comeback against Panathinaikos in the playoff series, a run Taylor said has helped bring the group here for the club’s first appearance at this stage. He said the team’s young players are very mature, which allows him, as one of the older players on the roster, to lead by example rather than speak too much. “I’m one of the older guys, so I can lead by example. But it’s crazy because the young players we have are very mature. I feel like I don’t have to lead too much, it’s more about guiding them,” he said.
That balance matters because the stage changes everything. Valencia Basket has already shown it can recover in pressure moments, but Real Madrid’s depth and experience mean Taylor’s emphasis on collective defense is more than a talking point. The question now is whether Valencia can turn the energy of its first Final Four into the sort of complete effort Taylor says will be needed to keep Madrid from dictating the game.
