S.L. Benfica (basketball) close to reach the Top 8, and for a third season in a row Benfica managed to reach the Top 16 again in the European Champions' Cup, in 1995–96, grabbing a win against Panathinaikos, the eventual champions. This period was followed by a dark era in which Benfica was internally overshadowed by Ovarense, Portugal Telecom and FC Porto. Even though this period is considered to be a dark one, Benfica did manage to reach the LPB final once as well as winning Super Cups and finishing runners-up in the national cup and in the league cup. Also noteworthy is an
1977–78 S.L. Benfica season with the same points, although Porto remained leader with a better goal-average. On the final match-day, Benfica won, but so did Porto, which celebrated their first title in 19 years. Despite going unbeaten all season and only conceding 11 goals, they had lost the title by a 15-goal deficit. The squad for the season consisted of the players listed in the tables below, as well as staff member John Mortimore (manager), Rui Silva (assistant manager). Bibliography 1977–78 S.L. Benfica season The 1977–78 season was Sport Lisboa e Benfica's 74th season in existence and the club's 44th consecutive season in the