EuroLeague basketball: Fenerbahce find Final Four glory in Abu Dhabi classic
27 May 2025 00:44
KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)The 2025 Final Four of the basketball's second-biggest event – the EuroLeague – will go down as a special one for various reasons, and not just because it was staged outside of Europe for the first time, with Abu Dhabi playing the neutral host to the top four clubs of the season.For Türkiye fans, the Turkish Airlines-sponsored event saw Fenerbahce being crowned EuroLeague champions and after an eight-year wait for the club's second title. They were favourites on paper to win the title against Monaco, whom they beat 70-81 in a low-scoring final at the Etihad Arena on Sunday night.Yet, Monaco were no pushovers. Both finalists were responsible for knocking out two more illustrious Greek sides in the semi-finals – Panathinaikos and Olympiacos.'We were prepared to suffer, as I reminded the boys, before the match. And we had to work hard, man to man, quarter by quarter,' said coach Sarunas Jasikevičius, who incidentally became only the fourth player in history to win the EuroLeague both as a player and a coach; Sunday's feat adding to his four titles as a player.Adding a satisfactory twist in the happy ending for the Turkish club was the fact that Nigel Hayes-Davis was adjudged Most Valuable Player, the American having fallen out of favour with Jasikevičius at their previous club, Barcelona. A season non-regular Hayes-Davis moved to Fenerbahce first and immediately notched the record for most points (50) scored in a game in his first season. But then Fenerbahce chose to bring in Jasikevičius as they coveted the EuroLeague title. And on Sunday, Jasikevičius admitted relations with the power forward sidelined had been frosty early in the season. 'After I arrived, we had a talk and Nigel told me what were the areas where he disagreed with my plans. And he was right. So I decided to change and now all is good,' the coach said candidly.Fenerbahce absorbed early pressure as Monaco took a slender lead in the first quarter at 20-18. However, the Turkish side fought back for a 17-13 score in the second quarter and led 35-33 after the first half. The third quarter was even more keenly fought with Fenerbahce edging ahead 54-51 in the low-scoring encounter. But then Fenerbahce found an extra gear when it mattered, taking the fourth quarter by a 27-19 margin.Hayes-Davis led the way with 23 points and nine rebounds, with Marko Guduric scoring 19, while Devon Hall and Wade Baldwin netted 13 apiece. Alpha Diallo paced Monaco with 19 points, Mike James scored 17, Matthew Strazel had 13 and Daniel Theis contributed 12. While the coach was his usual animated self as he called out instructions, players rallied around the calm Hayes-Davis, who remained non-fussed in expressing his delight at becoming the MVP. 'I thought I'd be probably crying or something like that, but I've just played it over so much in my mind that, you know, in life if you do something a thousand million times, it's not that exciting on the millionth time. And I feel like that's what I'm a victim of right now,' Hayes-Davis said, words struggling to come out of his mouth.Yet, the new-found harmony between the duo showed as Hayes-Davis explained the team's strategy - quoting from his coach's playbook - to neutralise Monaco's 'physicality' in their approach.
And then in a dramatic moment before Hayes-Davis left the news conference, he poured a full bottle of water over the coach in a moment of light-hearted celebration. The Lithuanian coach took it on the chin amid loud cheers from the back where the support staff were seated.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Etihad
5 days ago
- Al Etihad
Dubai Basketball bow out of ABA as EuroLeague beckons
3 June 2025 01:00 KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI) Dubai Basketball's remarkable run in the Adriatic Basketball League (ABA) came to an end with a 114-97 defeat in the decider of the three-game semi-finals to Partizan Belgrade. Playing away in Serbia, the UAE outfit led for more than 25 minutes before their defence crumbled to end their Eastern European campaign. Had the team held on for another 15 minutes and shored up the defence on rebounds, they would have stunned the most experienced, decorated side of the competition. Yet, the Dubai club can hold their heads high and can look forward to a level up in international competition. Dubai Basketball are awaiting formal confirmation of their inclusion in the EuroLeague for the next season as Europe's elite competition looks to expand to 20 teams from the current 18. Making a strong impression in their debut in the ABA will only cast the spotlight more firmly on Dubai Basketball. According to reports, a shareholders' meeting held last week by EuroLeague laid out the expansion plans. Though two teams are to be added, regulars Alba Berlin have announced they are pulling out, so three teams have been pencilled in. Without naming the teams, EuroLeague officials said the list will be submitted for ratification 'contingent upon the completion of all required formalities'. Basket News identified the trio as Hapoel Tel Aviv, Valencia Basket and Dubai Basketball, while reporting that Alba Berlin would be joining the rival Fiba Basketball Champions League from next season. The report added that Hapoel Tel Aviv, the reigning champions of Europe's second-tier EuroCup, have been granted a one-year licence, while Valencia Basket – who were relegated from the EuroLeague in the 2023/24 season – and Dubai Basketball will hold three and five-year licences respectively. In the revised schedule post the expansion, each club will play an expanded regular season of 38 games, up from 34. Six teams will advance directly to the play-offs with four others entering a play-in tournament. The road ahead looked so rosy that Dubai Basketball may have lost focus on the job at hand on Sunday night. They had bounced back from the opening-game loss, also in Serbia, to win at the Coca-Cola Arena and level the series against Partizan Belgrade. In the decider, they led 50-47 after the first half but a 14-point run, starting late in the third quarter, swung the momentum decisively with star tactician Zeliko Obradovic playing a vital role for Dubai's rivals. Besides Obradovic, Duane Washington Jr. notched a team-high 18 points. Sterling Brown and Carlik Jones added 17 points apiece while captain Vanja Marinkovic chipped in with 15 points (5/5 triple-pointers) and Tyrique Jones had 14 points with 5/5 two-pointers. For Dubai, their Latvian import Davis Bertans stood out with 18 points, including 11 in the first quarter. Nate Mason followed with 16 points. Dubai's Slovenian coach Jurica Golemac said afterwards: 'I would like to congratulate Partizan on the victory; there were a lot of points and quality basketball tonight. In the third quarter, our energy started to drop, and Partizan stood out, especially with the individual quality of Marinković, who scored 3-4 times for three points and took the game away from us. 'We also missed [Awudu] Abbas, who was injured in the last match. It was very difficult for us to match Partizan's athletic abilities, and this was seen on the rebounds, where Partizan had 11 more possessions. We cannot be dissatisfied because we led against them for 23 minutes, and we played good and smart basketball. I wish Partizan all the best in the final.'
Al Etihad
27-05-2025
- Al Etihad
NextGen: Dubai's Falcons hold promise as basketball talent
28 May 2025 00:46 KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)The NextGen Finals for Under-18 basketball players on the sidelines of the EuroLeague's Final Four in Abu Dhabi proved to be a vital stepping stone for some of the sport's future superstars in the week gone by. And the host country's representatives Dubai Basketball Falcons impressed despite many challenges.'We got only 10 days to come together to prepare, so considering the challenges, I am proud of the team,' coach Slaven Rimac tells Aletihad after the side finished their third and final Group A engagement at the Mubadala Arena. The world's top eight clubs were pitted in two groups and only the group toppers made it to the final. The hastily arranged team of Dubai Basketball had a tough pairing with one of the oldest clubs, Barcelona, to open the tournament on a losing note. But they acquitted themselves with a comeback win against Mega Super Belgrade and even rallied in the third quarter and led against eventual finalist Emporio Armani Milan in the final game. But the Italian club's more experienced players dug deep and managed to find the win 86-84, such was the fine is a saying that in order to be the best, you have to beat the best. But in order for that to happen, you first have to see and face the best. Judging by the display of the younger Falcons and the fact that Milan lost to eventual winner Zalgiris Kaunas 89-81, the future seems only bright from here.'We have young players like Gustavs [Vilcans] or [Diop] Amath, who are born in 2010, then Bacary [Doucoure] is also 2010, and meanwhile all of the squad of EA Milan is like 2007 and they have been playing together for about two years now,' Rimac pointed team finished strongly especially considering a 46-point margin loss to Barcelona. 'Unfortunately, we played against a very good team of Barcelona. They punished us and we were not under any illusions. But yes, it was important how we react to that and the boys concentrated on the second and third games.'We showed that we have quality, that the kids know how to play right... I guess the kids were not used to that stage, especially in offence where they couldn't react as well as after. But we showed we had a united team; everybody respects each other and I think we showed a really good face of Dubai basketball team.'I was indeed worried about the players' mental and psychological side after that Barcelona loss because we knew we had a certain quality but as you know, we didn't have time to practice as much. Yet, the team reacted very well with that response against Mega. And remember, it is the first time we are playing in Abu Dhabi, too,' Rimac other group also was strongly contested with the Lithuanian side of Kaunas prevailing over teams from Real Madrid, Paris and United States. Dubai Basketball competed as wild card entrants and managed to carve their own impressions, as hoped by Rimac colleague and the general manager of the club's youth programme, Petros Krasopoulos. 'For the kids coming through our academy and other young players across the UAE, seeing a team from Dubai competing in the NextGen EuroLeague has been a massive source of inspiration,' said Krasopoulos, the Greek native who has been with the club since 2015. 'It makes professional basketball an achievable feat – highlighting that there's a clear pathway from playing the game here locally to stepping onto the court against some of the biggest youth teams in Europe.'
Web Release
27-05-2025
- Web Release
Fenerbahçe Beko wins Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four
Fenerbahçe Beko defeated their opponent Monaco 81-70 in the championship match, taking the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague trophy home. Olympiacos, who defeated Panathinaikos 97-93, finished the series in third place. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the final match, Nigel Hayes-Davis from Fenerbahçe Beko, received a prize of 1,000,000 Miles&Smiles miles from Turkish Airlines' Chief Commercial Officer Ahmet Olmu?tur. Commenting on the tournament Turkish Airlines' Chief Commercial Officer Ahmet Olmu?tur said: 'As the airline flying to more countries than any other, we are aware of sports' role in bringing people together, perfectly aligned with Turkish Airlines' mission of uniting people, cultures and countries. Turkish Airlines has been the title sponsor of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague since 2010 and proudly celebrates the 15th year of this partnership. As the top-tier men's league in Europe, this tournament brings the best teams and players, establishing an atmosphere of solidarity and competition, befitting the spirit of sports. In this context, we congratulate Fenerbahçe Beko for its 2025 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague championship. We will continue to support sports in all branches all around the world and bridge cultures and continents all around the globe.' Khem Birch from Fenerbahçe Beko was awarded the 'Turkish Airlines Flight Time Champion' title and received 179,300 Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles miles for spending 1.793 seconds in the air.
