Benfica beat Geneva Lions 87-78 in Champions League basketball on September 15, 2026. The nine-point final margin is misleading: Benfica won the first quarter by eight, and the remaining three quarters finished 62-61.
The Opening Quarter Was Effectively the Whole Game
Benfica scored 25 points in the first quarter to Geneva’s 17. From that point on the two teams were indistinguishable — Geneva edged the second 21-20, the third was tied 17-17, and Benfica took the fourth 25-23.
Add those three together and you get a one-point difference across 30 minutes of basketball. A team can win a game in the first ten minutes and spend the rest of it not losing, which is a fair description of what the quarter splits show here.
Geneva Never Found the Run They Needed
Trailing by eight after one, Geneva’s best quarter was the second, and it clawed back exactly one point. The third quarter — often where a deficit gets erased or doubled — produced 17 points each and changed nothing.
The fourth was the closest Geneva came to a surge, and Benfica answered it. Per live basketball results data recorded September 15, 2026, both teams scored their highest quarterly total in the fourth: 25 for Benfica, 23 for Geneva. Neither side broke.
Low-Scoring Middle, High-Scoring Ends
Worth noting for anyone reading the box score: the third quarter was the lowest-scoring period of the game for both teams, at 17 apiece. The first and fourth were the highest. Whatever adjustments happened at halftime, they slowed the game down rather than opening it up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Benfica vs Geneva Lions? Benfica won 87-78 at home on September 15, 2026, in Champions League basketball.
Was the Benfica vs Geneva Lions game close? Closer than the score suggests. Benfica led by eight after the first quarter and outscored Geneva by only one point across the remaining three quarters combined.
Result per live basketball results data from our sports data provider, recorded September 15, 2026. See more recent results.