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 they had done before, Benfica reacted and won two more matches, one them in Bonfim, where Bento was sent-off. This allowed them to reduce Porto's lead to a point, after their rivals had slipped. This made the visit to Estádio das Antas on 28 May, a title defining match. On that day, Benfica scored first on the 3rd minute with Porto levelling it on the 83rd minute, thus keeping them at the front. From the match, Toni said "It was the divine providence that saved Porto". In the second-to-last match, Porto drew away and Benfica won, which tied both teams