Febernahçe is crowned in the EuroLeague after beating Galatasaray in the final

Fenerbahçe achieved its third Women’s EuroLeague title this Sunday at the Príncipe Felipe pavilion in Zaragoza after defeating Galatasaray (55-68), which struggled in the last quarter of a new Turkish final, 12 years after the one played in 2014, which the lionesses won. The duel between the two Istanbul teams was the most probable in the Final Six held in the Aragonese capital since Wednesday, and they reached the final match after Fenerbahçe defeated Spar Girona (76-59) on Friday and Galatasaray defeated Casademont Zaragoza (63-56), frustrating the dream of a Spanish EuroLeague.

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Both teams, perhaps due to the mutual respect between two high-caliber squads, started cautiously and very attentive in defense, although after the first five minutes, Galatasaray began to get a measure of their opponent and pull away on the scoreboard (14-8, with two and a half minutes remaining) with a standout Elizabeth Williams. But Fenerbahçe woke up and, with Emma Messerman leading the charge, the team coached by Miguel Méndez went into the second quarter ahead (16-17).

In the next period, the Spanish coach’s players continued to increase their lead, sealing an 11-0 run that translated, after just over a minute, into a 16-22 score that forced Galatasaray to react. Revitalized, Firat Okul’s team managed to take the lead with a three-pointer from Kamiah Smalls (27-25) in the 17th minute, although the surge ended there, and it was Fenerbahçe who took control again to conclude the first half 32-37, driven by Iliana Rupert.

In a back-and-forth game, Méndez’s team seemed to dominate more, with Messeman (13 points) and Rupert (10 points) as leaders, although anything could happen in a very close European final with so much quality on the court. However, Fenerbahçe came out very strong from the bench and, in two and a half minutes, went twelve points ahead (37-45), with Julie Allemand very sharp from the perimeter. In a more relaxed quarter than the previous ones, although Galatasaray managed to close the gap, it seemed that their opponent was managing the times well, to conclude 45-51 before the last 10 minutes arrived.

However, Okul’s players were not going to make it easy, and in fact, they got within just 4 points (49-53) in the 34th minute, so the final was very open and the little time remaining until the end felt electric. But a three-pointer from Breanna Stewart and a steal from Allemand put Fenerbahçe nine points ahead (49-58) in a flash, a lead that increased to 12 with another three-point shot from the Belgian point guard, which practically sealed the title for the Turkish team, which with the definitive 55-68 now has three European crowns, after those achieved in 2023 and 2024.

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