Ahead of the EuroLeague Championship Game, Fenerbahçe Beko guard Wade Baldwin sat down with Euroleague.net to discuss the title decider against AS Monaco Basket.

Wade Baldwin speaks to Euroleague.net ahead of the Championship Game

Ahead of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game, which takes place later today (19:00 CEST), [Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fenerbahce-beko-istanbul/ulk/) guard [Wade Baldwin](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/wade-baldwin-iv/009863/) sat down with [Euroleague.net](http://Euroleague.net) to discuss the title decider against [AS Monaco](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/as-monaco/mco/).

Wade Baldwin previews the Championship Game

AS Monaco v Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (2025-05-25T17:00:00.000Z)

During a press conference on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, Euroleague Basketball President Dejan Bodiroga and Euroleague Basketball CEO Paulius Motiejunas spoke to the assembled media during Final Four weekend.

Full transcript: Press conference with Euroleague Basketball CEO and President

See what players on AS Monaco and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul said at the media availability session on the eve of the 2025 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game.

Players' thoughts before the Championship Game

### Nick Calathes, Monaco guard

"It feels great. It is always great to have a chance to be able to win a championship, so for us to make it to the final is huge. And we want to do better than that. Obviously, we want to win it. It is huge for us to get your body right, to get your mindset right and to stay locked in. They are well coached. They have got a lot of guys that can create and get shooters the ball in the right position. They know how to play, their guards are really tough. And then obviously you got Nigel \[Hayes-Davis\] who pretty much can do it all. It felt really good to be out there. It's been a long time, it has been an up-and-down season for me with injuries, and just to be out there with the guys and help was great. I hope to do the same thing tomorrow. My knees felt great, everything felt good, so I will be ready to go for the final. You never know when you can get another chance. I had a chance in Barcelona that I regret. This would be amazing to get."

 

### Elie Okobo, Monaco guard

"We have to stay locked in like we were yesterday and bring even more intensity, do even better. They are a really talented team. We are really excited that it is about to start, and we are ready. The semifinal showed we evolved, that we improved as a team throughout the years, throughout the season and you gain experience. And when a team makes a run, it’s about keeping your composure, staying focused and locked in on the game plan and what you have to do. I think that’s what we did yesterday, we did it at a high level and we will have to do it in the championship game. I feel like we have been sacrificing for the good of the team. It does not matter who is scoring, who makes an assist. The goal is to play as a team, play at a high level defensively and share the ball. You can see that everyone can shine on this team, everyone can bring something to the table on offense and on defense and that’s what we're gonna have to do. These games are to win titles, not for stats."

### Mam Jaiteh, Monaco center

"I think we have extreme determination and extreme willingness of trying to win, win this final. You never know if we are going to have a chance again to have this kind of game, so the goal is to have no regrets and to be able to give it all in tomorrow's game. Our goal is to play even more physical than what we did yesterday. We know that this is a final and there are going to be some x-factors, some tactical things that can be different, so if we play with this physicality and this energy, that's how we are going to give us a lot of chances to win. I'm feeling great, and I think this is the mood and the mentality of every guy on the team right now, being able to give everything that the team needs, and being available to contribute to the team, because this is the only way to win. We have to play as a team and everybody has to bring something."

### Marko Guduric, Fenerbahce guard

"I think we had 9 turnovers in the semifinals, and I think that’s the key for us. We have seen how Monaco threw Olympiacos off its game with the defense and pressure, they have players who do a great job with that. Key will be our turnovers, how we will get into our offensive sets and control the game. We are watching our games against Monaco from this season, and last night’s game. Honestly, the film was not long. I believe it is not easy to put too much information at this point into players’ minds, and I think \[Coach Jasikevicius\] knows that, and knows it better than us. It’s to make it as simple as possible, to stress just a few important things. Monaco’s semifinals performance did not surprise me because we played five playoff games last season against them. It’s the same players, and I remember how physical and tough it was. Now they also have Nick Calathes, who was with us last season and does some great defensive things not seen in the box scores. And they have Daniel Theis, who was not there last season, and gives them extra quality."

### Bonzie Colson, Fenerbahce forward

"It's going to be a fun atmosphere. We're blessed to be in situation to play for a final. They're a really great, progressive and talented team, so we got to focus in on being patient and executing as best we can offensive. Tomorrow's a whole new game, but we got to play that same way \[we did on Friday\], and we think it's going to be more aggressive. Monaco has always been talented, they have great chemistry. They have the same guards, they added Nick \[Calathes\] as another veteran guard, but they’re scorers, they defend really well, they're very aggressive. I’ve played them a lot, so I know what they do. They know what we do. So it's gonna come down to just executing and playing more aggressive than them. It should be an exciting game. A EuroLeague championship is why I'm here. It’s a goal of a lot of people, So, it'll be definitely the highest achievement that I can reach, being a player in Europe. I'll have my girlfriend, my daughter – actually, her birthday is Monday – and then, my girlfriend's mom, sister, and cousin here for the game."

### Sertac Sanli, Fenerbahce center

"It is amazing to play the final because we played the whole season for this game. Everything we did was to play this game, and everybody knows that, all of my teammates know this. And everybody wants to play as soon as possible because nobody can wait. We are excited to step on the court in the EuroLeague final and I hope we are going to win. There are no favorites in this kind of game. It is just one game and there is nothing you can do about it the day after. This is a there-is-no-tomorrow kind of game, everything we did was to play this game, and who wants it more is going to win it. We have to fight for 50-50 balls, dive for loose balls and fight more, make good fouls. The team that fights the most is going to win the game. I can be the first player to win the EuroLeague with Fenerbahce and Efes. It's really exciting and with the help of our fans, it is a really great opportunity for my career, a great milestone for me. I hope we are going to win it tomorrow, and I can check one more box in my career."

Third-Place Game: Pregame quotes

### Third-place Game: Olympiacos Piraeus vs. Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (16:00 CEST)

**Georgios Bartzokas, Olympiacos Piraeus head coach**

"I cannot hide from anybody. This game is a game nobody wants to play. We will try to play with the player who are more fresh because we have a challenge ahead of us in the domestic league, we play on Friday against Panathinaikos and that is really important. I don’t know how in one day you can overcome this kind of situation we face right now. It is not easy for human beings, even if they are professionals at this level. But we will do our best."

**Nikola Milutinov, Olympiacos Piraeus center**

"Everything went wrong \[in the semifinals\]. We shot with bad percentages, we had turnovers, we did not have a lot of assists. But we have to give credit to Monaco, they were playing great defense. Without them playing that type of defense we would have probably done \[many things\] better. Our bad night, their good night, congrats to them. We cannot stay in the past, we have to look ahead. It is hard because some players have some issues, some players might be rested tomorrow. But, to be honest, the most important thing is to finish the \[third-place\] game healthy and to get ready for Friday. The big goal is the Greek League, we know how much that means to the fans."

**Alec Peters, Olympiacos Piraeus forward**

"Everything went wrong. Everybody who watches basketball knows what happens. It’s exactly how Olympiacos doesn’t want to play basketball. How we played the whole season, to come out and have a performance like that in the semifinal leaves a pit in your stomach. We are going to play Panathinaikos a lot in the next couple of week, so hopefully we are going to try to set the tone tomorrow, and get a feel for it. But anytime you are on this stage, you have to remember how blessed you are to have this opportunities and be in these cool places and do these things. Hopefully we wake up tomorrow with a mindset of getting back to the routine of playing."

**Cedi Osman, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens forward**

"It is not easy to recover and to play for the third and fourth place. But, we have to. So, we will play to win. But five days later we will have an important Greek League finals game against Olympiacos, so we also have to think about what is ahead for us."

Check out what the Final Four stars said during media availability at Etihad Arena on Saturday

The All-25 EuroLeague Team was honored with an on-court ceremony on Friday during the two semifinal games at the 2025 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four.

All-25 EuroLeague team honored at 2025 Final Four

The All-25 EuroLeague Team was honored with an on-court ceremony on Friday during the two semifinal games at the 2025 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four.

It was the biggest celebration of a very special season, marking 25 years of Europe's premier basketball competition. Most of the legends that made it to the All-25 team were greeted by Euroleague Basketball CEO Paulius Motiejunas with a special gift: a personalized basketball-shaped trophy which could be opened to find a personalized plate and a unique All-25 Panini card with each person's name. Only 25 of these All-25 Panini cards have been made, making them even more special.

The players were introduced in alphabetical order, and fans had the chance to cheer for some of their team's biggest legends. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul fans had a chance to salute [Bogdan Bogdanovic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/bogdan-bogdanovic/002821/). Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens supporters cheered for [Dimitris Diamantidis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/diamantidis-dimitris/jko/), [Mike Batiste](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/mike-batiste/ajv/) and Euroleague Basketball president [Dejan Bodiroga](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/dejan-bodiroga/apn/). Olympiacos fans erupted in joy when [Georgios Printezis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/georgios-printezis/amm/), the hero of its 2012 EuroLeague championship, stepped on the court.

The selection process combined the votes of EuroLeague head coaches who had won a championship, past All-Decade Team members and MVPs, media representatives and fans. The coaches and playing greats each made up 40% of the final vote, and the media and fans were 10% each. 

Mike Batiste, Dejan Bodiroga, Bogdan Bogdanovic, [Nando De Colo](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/nando-de-colo/002100/), Dimitris Diamantidis, [Luka Doncic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/luka-doncic/005929/), [Rudy Fernandez](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/rudy-fernandez/bmt/), [Manu Ginobili](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/emanuel-ginobili/akx/), [Kyle Hines](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/kyle-hines/002812/), [Mike James](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/mike-james/005985/), [Saras Jasikevicius](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/saras-jasikevicius/adg/), [Shane Larkin](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/shane-larkin/007200/), [Sergio Llull](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/sergio-llull/tgb/), [Vasilije Micic,](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/vasilije-micic/002580/) [Juan Carlos Navarro](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/navarro-juan-carlos/adi/), [Theo Papaloukas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/theodoros-papaloukas/atw/), [Anthony Parker](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/anthony-parker/aow/), Georgios Printezis, [Sergio Rodriguez](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/rodriguez-sergio/cvm/), [Kostas Sloukas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/kostas-sloukas/001926/), [Vassilis Spanoulis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/vassilis-spanoulis/juo/), [Ramunas Siskauskas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/ramunas-siskauskas/jmm/), [Walter Tavares](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/walter-tavares/005791/), [Milos Teodosic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/milos-teodosic/jdr/) and [Nikola Vujcic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/nikola-vujcic/apb/) were the chosen players.

All of them together combine for 57 EuroLeague titles, as well as 18 Finals and Final Four MVP awards. Congratulations!

The biggest legends in Turkish Airlines EuroLeague history were present in an on-court ceremony

The 2025 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game Press Conference was at times serious and at times funny, with the participants showing that they are focused on the task at hand. Coach Sarunas Jasikevicius and Tarik Biberovic represented Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and coach Vassilis Spanoulis and Alpha Diallo spoke for AS Monaco. 

Highlights from the Championship Game Press Conference

The 2025 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game Press Conference was at times serious and at times funny, with the participants showing that they are focused on the task at hand. Coach [Sarunas Jasikevicius](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fenerbahce-beko-istanbul/ulk/jasikevicius-saras/) and [Tarik Biberovic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/tarik-biberovic/006961/) represented [Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fenerbahce-beko-istanbul/ulk/) and coach [Vassilis Spanoulis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/as-monaco/mco/spanoulis-vassilis/) and [Alpha Diallo](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/alpha-diallo/011226/) spoke for [AS Monaco](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/as-monaco/mco/). 

There were several questions about the fact that Jasikevicius and Spanoulis were teammates and won a championship under the great Zeljko Obradovic at Panathinaikos Athens. Jasikevicius revealed that among all his basketball dreams, he "never would imagine me and Billy sitting in a press conference room before a EuroLeague final." Jasikevicius later added that Spanoulis told him before the semifinal: "Malaka, you know what’s the worst, we don’t have the ball." 

Spanoulis complimented his former teammate by saying: "Saras is a winner, a competitor, has a great mind for basketball, as a player and a coach. I have huge respect for him. He is my friend." He also revealed a little of his coaching outlook when he said: "When I started to coach, I said that I cannot treat the players like I treated myself, because I don’t know how much they can suffer." 

Biberovic was asked, among other things, about his great stretch recently and answered: "We work all our lives for chances like this… You never know when it is going to come, you just have to stay ready. I am grateful that my best basketball is in the most crucial parts of my career."

Diallo credited Coach Spanoulis with getting him and the team to where they are now. "If I had to pick a point where things shifted, it was when coach came in… To have a coach who knows what it takes to get to the top is important… Our coaches do a great job of trying to put me in spots to help our team win."

The entire 40-minute press conference [can be seen on the EuroLeague's YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIykQSK9DcA).

Both coaches and one player from each of the finalist teams looked ahead to the big game

AS Monaco relied on an extraordinary Jaron Blossomgame, who had a major contribution in holding Sasha Vezenkov below double digits in scoring (7 points) for the first time this season, to win their semifinal at the Final Four in Abu Dhabi

Monaco’s defensive intensity extinguished Olympiacos’s ball circulation

Heading into Friday’s semifinal against [Olympiacos Piraeus](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/olympiacos-piraeus/roster/oly/?season=2024-25), [AS Monaco](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/teams/as-monaco/roster/mco/?season=2024-25) was aware that it needed to force the Reds out of their comfort zone. The key to the win would be preventing Olympiacos from playing its free-flowing, altruistic basketball based on sharing the ball to find open looks.

Coach Georgios Bartzokas’s side came into the clash against Vassilis Spanoulis’s Monaco boasting a league-high 20.9 assists per game. Yet, Spanoulis had prepared a masterplan that his team’s defense executed to perfection, limiting his former team to a season-low 10 dishes.

Monaco forced Olympiacos to an unfamiliar isolation game, taking out all its weapons on offense by disturbing its ball circulation.

“We wanted to make them feel like an on-ball team tonight,” [Daniel Theis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/daniel-theis/004132/) explained on the EuroLeague post-game show. “We wanted to make them beat us one-on-one. They are an incredible team when they’re moving the ball. They’ve got so much talent. But we wanted to get that away from them, make them play one-on-one and iso. That’s what we did tonight and that was the result.”

A compilation of Monaco's steals against Olympiacos

To do so, Monaco relied on an extraordinary [Jaron Blossomgame](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/jaron-blossomgame/011231/), who had a major contribution in holding Sasha Vezenkov below double digits in scoring (7 points) for the first time this season.

“I think Jaron Blossomgame didn’t leave [Sasha Vezenkov](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/sasha-vezenkov/003469/)’s side all game,” Theis added. “He took him out of his game. We were ready for his movement. He never stopped moving. He doesn’t like to dribble as much, so whenever he catches the ball \[Blossomgame\] was right there, making him feel uncomfortable all game long. That was a big key to our success today."

Vezenkov barely touched the ball on offense, struggling to find space to execute. Monaco’s defense got under his skin, forcing the MVP candidate to an abysmal 0-for-6 from deep. The Olympiacos forward attempted just 10 field goals, most of which were contested with Monaco piling the pressure on him whenever he tried to find space to receive the ball.

Game News

“When we play Monaco basketball, no one can beat us and that’s what we did tonight,” Blossomgame told [EuroLeagueBasketball.net](http://EuroLeagueBasketball.net). “I just want to impact winning. Whatever that is for my team. Whether it’s defense on their best player like tonight or whether that’s scoring or diving for a loose ball. I want to be that guy for us, impacting the game in a lot of ways.”

Monaco recorded 10 steals, forcing the Reds to 14 turnovers on which they capitalized by scoring 19 points off Olympiacos’s errors.

“We are a good defensive team when we’re locked in,” [Mike James](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/mike-james/005985/) stressed after the game. “We’ve got good athletes. We’re physical. We can do a lot of things defensively to disrupt people.”

Monaco’s defensive strategy against Olympiacos worked out well, but a reset might be needed ahead of Sunday's Championship Game against [Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fenerbahce-beko-istanbul/roster/ulk/?season=2024-25) – a team playing another type of basketball.

“Fener are a totally different team than Olympiacos,” Spanoulis admitted in the post-game press conference. “We have to change the chip in our mind and execute a different game plan.”

Yet, what’s certain is that one aspect of Monaco’s game will remain unchanged. And that is the defensive intensity that they utilized to strangle Olympiacos’s offense on Friday night.

Coach Vassilis Spanoulis’s side held the Reds to a season-low 10 assists

Olympiacos Piraeus v AS Monaco (2025-05-23T18:00:00.000Z)

AS Monaco Basket forward Alpha Diallo led his team in scoring as they reached the EuroLeague Championship Game with a win over Olympiacos BC.

Alpha Diallo did it on both ends to help Monaco get over the hump

[Alpha Diallo](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/alpha-diallo/011226/) showed during the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Semifials just why he is such an important player for [AS Monaco](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/as-monaco/mco/).

In [a 68-78 win over Olympiacos Piraeus](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/mike-james-leads-monaco-past-olympiacos-and-into-championship-game-68-78/) that guaranteed Monaco's place in the championship game, the fourth-year forward was absolutely everywhere, finishing with a team-high 22 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. 

He was almost unstoppable inside the arc, going 10 for 12 on two-pointers, but sometimes numbers can’t fully portray his contribution on the court.

“The coach and all the team ask a lot from \[Diallo\],” [Daniel Theis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/daniel-theis/004132/) said [on the EuroLeague's post-game show](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glZFazBUuuA). “He’s guarding the best player on offense. He’s having more and more responsibilities. We’ve also been asking a lot of him on offense, being aggressive. I think his confidence right now is sky-high.”

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Alpha Diallo was on fire with an incredible 10/12 from the field, showing pure efficiency and control 🔥<br><br>Nick Calathes stepped up when it mattered most and got Monaco’s offense flowing with 21 team assists 🧠<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> <a href="https://t.co/i612anysc6">pic.twitter.com/i612anysc6</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1926011527817048234?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Diallo set the tone from the off, playing all 10 minutes of the first quarter and scoring 8 of his team’s 17 points. More importantly, he provided his team with an unmatched energy on defense, helping get deflections, diving for loose balls and being the key to Monaco effectively disturbing Olympiacos’s ball circulation.

The Reds smoothly sharing the rock was what inspired their record-setting 27-2 run in the third quarter of the 2023 semifinal between the two teams. Monaco ended up losing that game, but this time they were having none of it as they laid the ghosts of the past to rest.

“We’ve watched that game a lot of times. I certainly did,” Diallo admitted. “Just coming out here and learning from our mistakes. We got over the hump. Olympiacos was a big hump for us in the past seasons.”

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="fr" dir="ltr">♥️ Vous êtes énormes! HISTORIQUES! 🇲🇨<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RocaTeam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RocaTeam</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F4GLORY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F4GLORY</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DagheMunegu?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DagheMunegu</a> <a href="https://t.co/nmFTsDqwzz">pic.twitter.com/nmFTsDqwzz</a></p>&mdash; AS Monaco Basket 🇲🇨 (@ASMonaco_Basket) <a href="https://twitter.com/ASMonaco_Basket/status/1926010416456503376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

This was the fifth game in a row where Diallo recorded a double-digit number in scoring after netting 21, 16, 13 and 11, respectively, in the last four playoff games against FC Barcelona. 

Should he manage to produce a similar display against [Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fenerbahce-beko-istanbul/ulk/) in Sunday's title decider, Monaco will have nothing to fear.

The 27-year-old forward pulled off a complete performance in the semifinal against Olympiacos

There is no doubt that Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul earned its right to play for the title in Sunday’s 2025 Championship Game, with the Turkish team dominating the opening semifinal against Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens far more than the 82-76 scoreline suggests.

Fenerbahce played with focus and control to dominate semifinal

There is no doubt that [Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fenerbahce-beko-istanbul/roster/ulk/?season=2024-25) earned its right to play for the title in Sunday’s Championship Game, with the Turkish team dominating the opening semifinal against [Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/teams/panathinaikos-bc-athens/roster/pan/?season=2024-25) far more than [the 82-76 scoreline](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/fenerbahce-downs-panathinaikos-82-76-advances-to-championship-game/) suggests.

The opening possessions saw baskets evenly traded, but when [Bonzie Colson](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/bonzie-colson/009783/)’s three-pointer gave Fenerbahce a 6-5 lead with 7:45 remaining in the first quarter, that was it: no more lead changes, as Coach Sarunas Jasikevicius’s men played with control, focus and impressive efficiency to lead the rest of the way.

Panathinaikos fought hard and came back to a 1-point margin a couple of times, but Fenerbahce never lost its way and pushed ahead by double digits on several occasions – including a 78-68 lead after a three-pointer from [Tarik Biberovic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/tarik-biberovic/006961/) with 33 seconds remaining, effectively sealing the outcome before a late flurry from Panathinaikos made the final margin closer.

A four-time champion and a certified Euroleague Legend as a player, Jasikevicius is not an easy man to please. But even the demanding Fenerbahce coach admitted that he was (mostly) happy with his team’s efforts as he told EuroLeague TV: “Hats off to the players. I didn’t think we played great but it’s not possible to play great at this stage.

“The fighting spirit and heart was there from the beginning. We started taking 50/50 balls, exactly what we didn’t do last year in Berlin in the semifinal against PAO. Like always in these games it became difficult, and we found players who stepped up.”

Post-game interview: Saras Jasikevicius

The game’s numbers tell the tale of Fenerbahce’s all-round dominance. The Turkish team had great offensive balance, making 14 shots from both two and three-point range, dished more assists than Panathinaikos (17-10), won the rebounding battle 33-29 including 10 at the offensive end, committed fewer turnovers (9 against 12) and blocked 4 shots against just 1 from the Greens.

The impressive composure shown by the men from Istanbul was evident throughout the roster, with the strong collective effort allowing the team to comfortably withstand quiet nights from usual offensive leaders [Nigel Hayes-Davis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nigel-hayes-davis/008962/) (7 points) and [Marko Guduric](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/marko-guduric/004004/) (3 points).

Playing with a team-first ethic is one of the keys to the success of this Fenerbahce team, and [Wade Baldwin](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/wade-baldwin-iv/009863/) – who made a strong personal contribution with 10 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals – emphasized the importance of that mentality as he said: “You have to take away the egos, you have to give a little bit, you have to sacrifice your pride and a little bit of your game to get guys going.

“I just wanted to take my time, be patient with the game, don’t force anything. Just allow my teammates to play our solid Fenerbahce basketball. We did a great job of that tonight, multiple guys can step up and play well, and that’s what happened.

“It’s good to play our solid basketball and win the way that Fenerbahce wins.”

Another key presence in the backcourt was [Devon Hall](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/devon-hall/011205/), who led his team’s scoring with 18 points on 4-of-6 three-point shooting. Hall underlined his team’s success in taking early control as a 10-0 first-quarter run established a lead that would never be relinquished.

“To start well is important, especially in these games when it’s a one-and-done scenario,” he said. “We trust in each other, and taking care of the ball was a key for us.”

But Hall also sounded a serious note as he sent a reminder that his team’s focus remains intact, saying: “I won’t be celebrating too much, because we’ve still got one more game on Sunday. So rest and recover, and go from there.”

If Fenerbahce can approach the title game with the same attitude and execution it displayed on Friday night, the Turkish team will take some stopping.

Saras Jasikevicius’s men were superior to Panathinaikos throughout Friday’s semifinal

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul v Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (2025-05-23T15:00:00.000Z)