Basketball: Fenerbahçe's Turks too strong for Monaco in Euroleague final

Thirty-two years after Limoges, Monaco could have brought France its second Euroleague title this Sunday, May 25, in Abu Dhabi against Fenerbahçe, after an irresistible rise over several years and despite a season that had gotten off to a rocky start. But the Turks were too strong and won after a fiery final quarter (81-70).

Double reigning French champion, the club from the Principality had the opportunity to be crowned king of Europe in its fourth participation, only, in this almost closed Euroleague whose door it forced open since its invitation, in 2021. It slammed it shut behind it, keeping its place thanks to its sporting performances, two quarter-finals in 2022 and 2024 and a first Final Four in 2023, made possible by the funds and ambition of its owner, the Russian naturalized Hungarian Aleksej Fedoricsev.

The "Roca Team" faced another recent nightmare this Sunday, Fenerbahçe, the 2017 winners, who defeated Paris in the quarterfinals this season and came to eliminate them on their home court after overtime in the fifth and final quarterfinal match last year (80-79). Revenge will have to wait.