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Fenerbahce Beko, reaching the EuroLeague final for the fourth time in its history, will face Monaco tonight at 8:00 p.m. in Abu Dhabi in pursuit of Europe's most prestigious club basketball title.
The Istanbul-based club has reached the Final Four for the seventh time in the past 10 years. After defeating Panathinaikos, coached by Ergin Ataman, 82-76 in the semifinal two nights ago, Fenerbahce now aims to claim its second EuroLeague title, having previously lifted the trophy in 2017.
Fenerbahce Beko hopes to bring Türkiye its 17th European basketball title at the club level. If victorious tonight, Turkish basketball will celebrate its second European trophy this season. Earlier this year, Fenerbahce’s women’s basketball team won the FIBA SuperCup.
Fenerbahce has already brought five European basketball trophies to Türkiye. The men's team triumphed in the EuroLeague in 2017, while the women’s team won the EuroLeague in both 2023 and 2024, as well as the SuperCup in the same years.
Two of Zeljko Obradovic’s former players, Sarunas Jasikevicius and Vassilis Spanoulis, now head coaches, will go head-to-head for the title. When asked if Obradovic had sent a message, Jasikevicius replied, “Yes, I received a few,” while Spanoulis said, “I didn’t get one.”
Tarik Biberovic, a product of Fenerbahce’s youth system and now one of the team's key scorers, shared his excitement: “The system we have allows every player to shine. I always try to stay ready, and I’m very happy to be playing the best basketball of my career at the most important stage of the season.”
Ahead of the final, former teammates Jasikevicius and Spanoulis shared a moment during the press conference. Jasikevicius recalled: “Before the semifinals, Billy turned to me and said, ‘Malaka, you know what the worst part is? We don’t have the ball, and we’re on the sideline. That sucks’. I never imagined we’d be here together before the final. We’re looking forward to the game and hope we come out on top.”
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