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AMMAN — Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul has become the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion for the second time in the history after defeating AS Monaco 81-70 in the 2025 final at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Although Monaco led for the most of a tight first half, Fener finished strong to take a 33-35 interval lead. It stayed close in the third quarter, but the Turkish team dominated the final period to clinch the title for the second time since 2017.
Nigel Hayes-Davis led the way with 23 points and 9 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.
Guduric scored the opening basket with a driving layup, but Monaco responded with triples from Diallo and Strazel, along with five points from James. Diallo scored again to complete an 8-0 run, giving Monaco a 13-4 lead. Hayes-Davis scored 4 straight to reduce the gap, before James and Hall traded triples to make it 16-11. Theis and Baldwin exchanged inside scores, before Tarik Biberovic and Jaron Blossomgame netted from mid-range to make it 20-18 after ten minutes.
In a low-scoring start to the second quarter, Baldwin’s triple briefly gave Fener the lead, but Theis immediately hit back from deep. Khem Birch’s tip-in and Hall’s fierce slam kept Fener moving, and Hall beat the halftime buzzer with a wild acrobatic put-back for a 33-35 lead.
Guduric continued to hit three-pointers in the second half while Daniel Theis reignited Monaco with a layup-and-one. Hall and James traded driving layups to make it 38-40, and Hayes-Davis netted from mid-range to keep Fener ahead despite Strazel’s three-point play. Baldwin scored twice for a 43-48 lead, but Monaco went back ahead through triples from Blossomgame and Diallo. Guduric hit straight back with his own three-ball, and Hayes-Davis was also on target from deep for a 51-54 lead through three quarters.
The early minutes of the fourth were a defensive struggle, before Baldwin’s triple made it 51-59. Errick McCollum’s three-point play completed a 0-11 run, giving Fener the game’s first double-digit lead. After that the Turkish champion had the upper hand until the end of the match. The last triple from Guduric sealed the deal and decided the outcome of the final and the whole season.
In the match for the third place, Greek champions Panathinaikos and Olympiakos met again and the Reds from Piraeus prevailed 97-93.
Olympiakos bounced back beating the arch-rival in a consolation match. Many pundits thought that the final would be between the Greek powerhouses, but they proved wrong.
In Olympiakos' squad, Alec Peters shined with 32 points on 6-of-11 three-point shooting., while Luca Vildoza dished 9 assists and Thomas Walkup 8 to lead the attack. Sasha Vezenkov poured 23 points after a disappointing performance in the semifinals and Moses Wright netted a season-high 19.