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
1979–80 S.L. Benfica season August, but Benfica postponed it four days, so they could play a friendly abroad. On the 29, Benfica won 5–1 and Jorge Gomes made his historical debut. After the 0–0 draw in Clássico on match-day 3, Benfica shared first place with Porto with five points. However, in the UEFA Cup, the campaign was disappointing, with Benfica unexpectedly losing to Aris on the first round. On the league, Benfica dropped to second after a draw with União de Leiria, but managed to recover and catch Porto on match-day 8. A week later, they beat Sporting in the Derby de Lisboa, reaching