The Fenerbahce forward played in the UAE last summer for Team USA
Nigel Hayes-Davis is hoping for a happy return to Abu Dhabi
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Abu Dhabi is a new and unfamiliar venue for the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, with the 2025 Final Four helping to expose the continent’s elite basketball competition to a wider audience by heading away from European shores for the first time.
One player, however, does have some prior experience from the Etihad Arena, because Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul forward Nigel Hayes-Davis appeared at the venue in two international games last year.
Although he didn’t make the final roster, Hayes-Davis was with Team USA throughout its preparations for the Olympic Games in Paris, including showcase meetings with Serbia and France last July.
With superstars such as LeBron James, Steph Curry and Jayson Tatum taking most of the court time, Hayes-Davis had little opportunity to shine as he played for just 3 minutes across the two encounters. But it was still an understandably memorable experience, which he fondly remembered in the immediate aftermath of Fenerbahce’s series-clinching overtime win over Paris Basketball on Tuesday.
“It’s a beautiful full circle,” he told EuroLeague TV. “I’ve already been there in that gym, got two wins in that gym, so hopefully I can repeat that [at the Final Four]. That would be a beautiful thing.”
Hayes-Davis performed to his usual high standards in Game 3 on Tuesday, contributing 18 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 1 steal for a game-high PIR of 24. But this Fenerbahce team is built on collective cohesion rather than individual brilliance, and he was eager to underline the team ethic as he said: “The team stepped up, a lot of guys stepped up in a lot of ways, that maybe didn’t play all year. Like Dyshawn [Pierre] stepped up with great, huge minutes for us.
“Now we get some rest and look forward to get ready to go to Abu Dhabi and try to finish the job. Very happy for the guys, some guys haven’t been to the Final Four, so I’m happy they get to experience it because it’s a tremendous experience.”
Victorious coach Saras Jasikevicius, who was dumped, fully suited, into the bath as his players - led by Hayes-Davis - enjoyed their postgame celebrations in the locker room, believes his team’s progress is well deserved as a reward for their recent performances – but warns that more must follow.
“I have to take off hats to my players,” Jasikevicius noted. “The last couple of months, we’ve been playing good basketball, our level of concentration and basketball went up. This is the most important and that will give us more chances of winning the whole thing.
“Everybody knows how difficult it is, how many good teams will be in Abu Dhabi. So tonight is a party, but next day we’re back to work because we need to keep getting better. Final Four is another level up, and another level up you’ve got to play better.”
With a 6-2 finish to the regular season and a playoff sweep of dangerous Paris, this Fenerbahce team is clearly heading in the right direction. Whether that will take them all the way to the summit, we’ll find out soon.