In the Euroleague playoffs, the 3-6 matchup witnessed an intense battle between our representative, Fenerbahçe Beko, and the French team, Monaco. In a highly tense fifth game that went to overtime, the yellow and navy blue team clinched a narrow 80-79 victory and secured their spot among the final four.
Starting the season under the guidance of Dimitris Itoudis with significant transfers, the team faced a series of undesirable results and negative atmosphere in the locker room, which led to the dismissal of the Greek coach. Subsequently, Šarūnas Jasikevičius, who had previously played for the team, was appointed as the head coach. From that day on, Fenerbahçe displayed a more coherent and chemically balanced team on the court. While Coach Šaras did not magically transform the players, the altered roles on the field, increased defensive focus, and a boost in players’ confidence were palpable. Moreover, despite his successes in Barcelona, Šaras appeared to have learned from his previous shortcomings in team communication. The community and the coach started believing in the group’s chances for the Final Four. Our team, entering the top eight as the 6th seed and facing the 3rd seed Monaco, was considered either fortunate or unlucky by experts. The series began in Monaco with both teams exchanging victories. Fenerbahçe won the third game in Ataşehir, taking the lead again, and nearly closed out the series. The breath-taking fourth game did not go as planned, and the series returned to Monaco once more. Despite high confidence, no away team had ever won the fifth game in previous 18 attempts to secure a place in the final four.
The fifth game in Monaco was a duel deserving of a Final Four spot, fought intensely by both teams. As basketball fans know, the final games often turn into a slugfest, with teams facing each other for the fifth consecutive time and knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses inside out. Sometimes a single ball, a moment, or an extra performance by a player makes the difference. Nick Calathes, once sidelined as the fall guy for last season’s failures and seemingly out of the roster plans, proved to be that extra player throughout this season and today. Yes, Calathes is far from the spring of his career, with advancing age and eroding skills. Yet, his humility, maturity, and nerves of steel are still very much intact. He didn’t hesitate for a moment to take the game’s most critical shots or to guard Euroleague’s top scorer and clutch player Mike James one-on-one. At 35, he spent 38 minutes on the court, scoring 14 points, grabbing 6 rebounds, and dishing out 4 assists, underlining his importance to Fenerbahçe in these three key areas, where he led the team.
For the first time since 2019, and the sixth time in its history, Fenerbahçe has reached the Final Four, and notably, they achieved this without Zeljko Obradovic for the first time. Though he is no longer present, the foundations he laid continue to be built upon by his successors, Jasikevičius and Calathes, and even Itoudis, considering his role in assembling this squad.