Fenerbahçe achieved its third Women’s Euroleague this Sunday at the Príncipe Felipe pavilion in Zaragoza after beating a Galatasaray (55-68) that suffered in the last quarter of a new Turkish final, 12 years after the one played in 2014 and which the lionesses then won. The duel between the two teams from Istanbul was the most likely in the Final Six that has been played in the Aragonese capital since Wednesday and they reached the last game after Fenerbahçe beat Spar Girona on Friday (76-59) and, frustrating the dream of a Spanish Euroleague.
Both squads, perhaps due to the mutual respect that two high-quality squads profess for each other, began cautiously and very attentive in defense, although after the first five minutes Galatasaray began to take the measure of its rival and distanced itself on the scoreboard (14-8, with two and a half minutes remaining) with an outstanding Elizabeth Williams. But Fenerbahçe woke up and, pulling the wagon, the team coached by Miguel Méndez arrived ahead in the second quarter (16-17).
In the following period, the Spanish coach’s players continued to increase their advantage, until they scored an 11-0 run that translated, after just over a minute, into a score of 16-22 that forced Galatasaray to react. Revitalized, Firat Okul’s team managed to take the lead with a triple from Kamiah Smalls (27-25) in the 17th minute, although the outburst reached there and the one who once again took the lead to conclude the first half 32-37 thanks to Iliana Rupert.
In a game of comings and goings, the one that dominated the most, with Messeman (13 points) and Rupert (10 points) as champions, although anything could happen in a very close European final and with so much quality on the hardwood. However, Fenerbahçe came out very strong from the bench and, in two and a half minutes, they were twelve points ahead (37-45), with Julie Allemand very fine from the perimeter. In a more relaxed quarter than the previous ones, although Galatasaray was able to close the gap, it gave the impression that its rival was knowing how to manage the times, to conclude 45-51 before the last 10 minutes arrived.
However, the Okul players were not going to make it easy for them and, in fact, they were only 4 points behind (49-53) in the 34th minute, so the final was very open and the little time left until the end seemed electric. But a triple by Breanna Stewart and a steal by Allemand put Fenerbahce nine points ahead in a flash (49-58), a lead that increased to 12 with another three-pointer from the Belgian base, which practically sealed the title for the Turkish team, which with the final 55-68 already has three European crowns, after those won in 2023 and 2024.
