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
1988–89 S.L. Benfica season Their next match was a Clássico with second-place Porto, ending in a draw. Until Christmas, Benfica increased their lead to four points. However, they lost for the first time in the next match, with Boavista, followed by a second consecutive loss with Penafiel, which did cause them to lose their first place because Porto also lost. In the following weeks, Benfica racked up wins and increased their lead to six points by March. The Clássico on the 29th match-day helped define the course of the remainder of the season. It was Porto's last hope of closing the gap, but Benfica