Now in his eighth season with Fenerbahce Beko, Marko Guduric was finally able to lift his first EuroLeague championship.

Marko Guduric gets his hands on the EuroLeague trophy at last

When [Marko Guduric](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/marko-guduric/004004/) signed for [Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fenerbahce-beko-istanbul/ulk/) in the summer of 2017, he must have thought that a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague championship would be imminent.

Fenerbahce, then coached by Zeljko Obradovic, had just become the first Turkish team to secure European basketball’s crown and Guduric, aged 22 entering the season, had big ambitions.

In the Serbian guard’s first campaign at the club, Fenerbahce returned to the 2018 EuroLeague Championship Game, but it was the Luka Doncic-led Real Madrid which ended up lifting the title.

Guduric went scoreless in 11 minutes in the semifinal against Zalgiris Kaunas, then posted a goose egg in over 9 minutes in the title decider against Madrid. For him personally, it was a first Final Four to forget.

One year later, Fenerbahce made it to its fifth straight Final Four, but Guduric and his teammates could not get past Anadolu Efes Istanbul in the semifinals. He did enjoy a far bigger role this time around, though, playing 29 minutes against Efes and pairing 8 points with 6 assists, then 28 minutes in the third-place game as he finished with 11 points against Madrid.

That third-place game proved to be his final appearance for Fenerbahce – or so it seemed – as Guduric went stateside by signing a multi-year contract with the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA in the summer of 2019. But a year and a half later, he was back in the EuroLeague and suiting up for Fenerbahce.

The passionate Fenerbahce fans had to wait five years between Final Four appearances as the team returned to European basketball’s showpiece event in 2024, yet it was a similar story to 2019 as it struggled to get over the hump. This season, that changed.

Fenerbahce swept its playoff series against Paris Basketball with Guduric averaging 13.5 points in Games 2 and 3, then he had a discreet performance in the semifinal triumph over reigning champion Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, but there was a story behind that.

“Three or four days before the Final Four, I had this hip injury,” Guduric told Eurohoops post-Final Four. “There was a lot of medication.”

In the championship game, Guduric had his crowning moment. Now in his seventh season with Fenerbahce, the Serbia international put his physical pain to one side and played a near-perfect game against AS Monaco.

In almost 29 minutes on the floor – double what he could manage in the semifinals – he recorded 19 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and zero turnovers. His sidestep three-pointer with 1:05 to go will be remembered for years to come, too, as it restored Fenerbahce’s double-digit advantage and effectively put the win on ice.

“This is the one. This is the one I’ve been waiting my whole career \[for\], working for,” Guduric told EuroLeague TV’s Martin Henlan after the final buzzer. “It’s hard to really say something right now. Just proud, happy.”

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But in typical Guduric fashion, he didn’t want to receive any personal praise. For him, the team always comes first.

“It’s all about the team. It’s all about the team,” he reiterated. “All these guys, we are really a team and I emphasize that word all the time. This is a team win.

“I’m very happy, very proud. All glory to God.”

It might’ve taken a little longer than Guduric might have planned, but he is a EuroLeague champion... at last.

Game News

The 30-year-old became a EuroLeague champion for the first time in Abu Dhabi

AS Monaco v Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (2025-05-25T17:00:00.000Z)

As Fenerbahce Beko and AS Monaco Basket battled in the EuroLeague Championship Game, Nigel Hayes-Davis and Daniel Theis were both mic'd up for the occasion.

Championship Game, Mic'd Up: Nigel Hayes-Davis, Daniel Theis



The Board of Shareholders of Euroleague Commercial Assets (ECA) convened on Thursday, May 29, 2025, to deliberate on key strategic initiatives aimed at shaping the future of the competitions.

Euroleague Commercial Assets Board Addresses Strategic Developments for the Future of the Competitions

During the meeting, the Board approved the proposal to expand the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague to 20 teams beginning with the 2025–26 season. This proposal will be submitted to the General Assembly for final ratification. 

In parallel, the Board agreed to present a preliminary list of proposed participating teams, contingent upon the completion of all required formalities.

The Board also held initial discussions regarding potential additional expansion scenarios for seasons beyond 2025–26.

Further information will be disclosed to the public as it becomes available.

The Board of Shareholders of Euroleague Commercial Assets (ECA) convened on Thursday, May 29, 2025, to deliberate on key strategic initiatives aimed at shaping the future of the competitions.

After a lot of near misses throughout his career, Khem Birch was able to lift a major trophy last Sunday after hoisting aloft the EuroLeague title.

Khem Birch finally a champion: ‘A long time coming’

Last Sunday night, [Khem Birch](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/khem-birch/007182/) was finally able to celebrate with his team at the end of a basketball championship run, as the 34-year-old [Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fenerbahce-beko-istanbul/ulk/) center was crowned a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion in Abu Dhabi.

“It was a long time coming,” Birch told Euroleague.net's Igor Petrinovic after the game.

“Every championship since high school, I lost. The EuroLeague in 2017. \[I lost\] even in the NBA Playoffs. So, God rewarded me.”

It sure was a long wait.

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A native of Canada, Birch played for Notre Dame Prep in Massachusetts during his senior year in high school, losing a USA National Prep Championship final against St. Thomas More back in 2011.

In 2013, in his college days, Birch lost in the final of the Mountain West tournament while playing for UNLV against University of New Mexico, then tasted defeat in the first game of the NCAA Tournament against the University of California.

In his lone previous season in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, Birch helped Olympiacos Piraeus to reach the 2017 championship game, only to lose against Fenerbahce.

Birch also never got past the first round of the NBA Playoffs, getting eliminated with the Orlando Magic in 2019 and 2020, and in 2022 with the Toronto Raptors.

To set the record straight, this recent EuroLeague title was not the first trophy for Birch in his professional career, as he won the Turkish Cup with Fenerbahce earlier this season.

However, winning the EuroLeague pales in comparison with everything else. To do that, [Fenerbahce beat AS Monaco in Sunday’s championship game](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/fenerbahce-crowned-2025-champion-with-70-81-win-over-monaco/).

“It was for sure a great battle, and we found the way to rally. And for sure it was our defense,” he said.

Birch praised the team spirit Coach Jasikevicius has instilled and the teammates’ trust in each other, both of which were key in achieving EuroLeague glory.

“We've got a lot of depth, a lot of unselfishness. We followed Coach's plan and we won.”

However, for Birch, there was no escaping a bit of drama. The big man woke up with back pain on the morning of the game and wasn’t entirely sure he’d be able to play.

“I remember when I had a playoff series in the NBA against the Sixers \[in 2022\], when I was with the Raptors, I had a torn meniscus and my back problem. So I know, this was nothing.”

To further prove that this back problem was “nothing” and he was not nervous if he would be able to go, Birch spent 20:16 minutes on the floor against Monaco, posting 6 rebounds, including 3 on the offensive end.

“Hey, I also received a Flight Time award, which means I was in the air the longest. I am too old to be nervous.”

So, finally on the winning team, Khem Birch feels like he might only be getting started.

“I think that after this, I will have the most confidence coming into these types of games.”

The Fenerbahce big man lifted the EuroLeague title after coming up short over and over again

FC Bayern Munich has confirmed that team captain Vladimir Lucic has signed a contract extension that will see him remain at the club until the summer of 2027.

Vladimir Lucic pens two-year extension at Bayern

[FC Bayern Munich](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fc-bayern-munich/mun/) has confirmed that team captain [Vladimir Lucic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/vladimir-lucic/001288/) has signed a contract extension that will see him remain at the club until the summer of 2027.

Lucic (35 years old, 2.04 meters) joined Bayern in 2016 and has become a fans' favorite during his time in Bavaria, appearing in 171 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games for the club since 2018 and also 25 BKT EuroCup fixtures between 2016 and 2018.

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In what was an injury-affected season for Lucic, he posted 7.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals in 16 games for Bayern, which reached the second round of the Play-In Showdown before exiting at the hands of Real Madrid. 

The veteran Serbian forward missed Rounds 3 through 22 with an injury, but his experience proved crucial for Bayern in the final stretch of the season as it finished ninth in the standings.

With Lucic still contributing at the highest level, coach Gordie Herbert will be leaning on his captain to lead the way as Bayern looks to build on its first season at SAP Garden and establish itself as one of the EuroLeague's dominant teams in the 2025-26 campaign.

More Bayern News

Top 10 photos of the EuroLeague Championship Game

Tens of thousands of fans took it to the streets of the largest Turkish city for a massive parade to greet the new Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champions, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul on Tuesday afternoon.

Fenerbahce enjoys massive championship parade

Tens of thousands of fans took it to the streets of Turkiye's largest city for a massive parade to greet the new Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champions, [Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fenerbahce-beko-istanbul/ulk/), on Tuesday afternoon.

Having captured the club’s second-ever EuroLeague crown, coach Saras Jasikevicius's team rode an open-top bus through a long Bagdat Street, the main avenue in Bostanci neighborhood. The bus moved slowly through the street packed with the fans wearing yellow-and-navy colors and proudly waving the flags of their favorite, and once again championship-winning, team.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="zxx" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/UpaKbhDmlJ">https://t.co/UpaKbhDmlJ</a> <a href="https://t.co/vFKI2DQVez">pic.twitter.com/vFKI2DQVez</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1927443039548522874?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Coach Jasikevicius and his players and staff looked on in awe of the amazing scenes, enjoying every second of the parade, showing off the coveted trophy they captured with [an 81-70 win over AS Monaco in Sunday’s EuroLeague Championship Game](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/fenerbahce-crowned-2025-champion-with-70-81-win-over-monaco/) in Abu Dhabi.

Fenerbahce became the eighth team in the modern EuroLeague to win the trophy twice, having also climbed the throne in 2017.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="lt" dir="ltr">Sarunas Jasikevicius. <a href="https://t.co/w89HnEZGBl">pic.twitter.com/w89HnEZGBl</a></p>&mdash; Fenerbahçe Beko (@FBBasketbol) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBBasketbol/status/1927463694750843207?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

"We are the EuroLeague champions, we have won the biggest trophy in Europe," Final Four MVP[ Nigel Hayes-Davis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/nigel-hayes-davis/008962/) said to the masses in Turkish. "But this is not just the victory of a trophy, it is a victory of attitude, of belief, of character. This success did not come only from a coach's tactics or the talent of the players. This level is not reached only through sporting success. This success is the work of a team that believes in us, a community that never gives up, and you, our great fans, who are always by our side."

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Parade ready ! 💛💙💛<a href="https://twitter.com/FBBasketbol?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FBBasketbol</a> <a href="https://t.co/8gMiYPCog7">pic.twitter.com/8gMiYPCog7</a></p>&mdash; Bonzie Colson (@Bcolson_35) <a href="https://twitter.com/Bcolson_35/status/1927379633353228726?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="tr" dir="ltr">Bizimkiler! 💛💙🏆<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YellowLegacy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#YellowLegacy</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroLeague?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroLeague</a> <a href="https://t.co/5hz8t6OFDd">pic.twitter.com/5hz8t6OFDd</a></p>&mdash; Fenerbahçe Beko (@FBBasketbol) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBBasketbol/status/1927468975404769525?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="tr" dir="ltr">Sevdik Seni Her Şeyden Çok! 💛💙<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YellowLegacy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#YellowLegacy</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroLeague?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroLeague</a> <a href="https://t.co/bsnS6W2f8D">pic.twitter.com/bsnS6W2f8D</a></p>&mdash; Fenerbahçe Beko (@FBBasketbol) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBBasketbol/status/1927396028241625220?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="cy" dir="ltr">BALDWIN IV!<a href="https://twitter.com/The_Fourth_Wade?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@The_Fourth_Wade</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YellowLegacy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#YellowLegacy</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroLeague?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroLeague</a> <a href="https://t.co/gvZG5v0WlW">pic.twitter.com/gvZG5v0WlW</a></p>&mdash; Fenerbahçe Beko (@FBBasketbol) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBBasketbol/status/1927407916392296624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">Nicolo! 💪<a href="https://twitter.com/NikMelli?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NikMelli</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YellowLegacy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#YellowLegacy</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroLeague?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroLeague</a> <a href="https://t.co/JMFf2ImJ9M">pic.twitter.com/JMFf2ImJ9M</a></p>&mdash; Fenerbahçe Beko (@FBBasketbol) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBBasketbol/status/1927422232181055600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="tr" dir="ltr">İstersen donatalım dört bir yanı bayraklarla! 🔥 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YellowLegacy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#YellowLegacy</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroLeague?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroLeague</a> <a href="https://t.co/wYV3LndZiK">pic.twitter.com/wYV3LndZiK</a></p>&mdash; Fenerbahçe SK (@Fenerbahce) <a href="https://twitter.com/Fenerbahce/status/1927419761782108524?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


The new EuroLeague champion celebrated its trophy with its fans

Here are some facts about two-time Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champions Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul!

Facts of the Champions: Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul

...Fenerbahce won its second EuroLeague championship! It previously lifted the trophy in 2017.

...Fenerbahce is the eighth team in modern EuroLeague history to lift multiple titles.

...Sarunas Jasikevicius became the fourth person to win the EuroLeague as a player and head coach. Jasikevicius won four EuroLeague championships as a player. Armenak Alachachan, Lolo Sainz and Stevislav Pesic are the only three members of this exclusive club. Saras is the first to do it in the modern EuroLeague.

...Melih Mahmutoglu is the only player to win two EuroLeague titles with Fenerbahce: 2017 and 2025! 

...Sertac Sanli is the only player to win the EuroLeague title with both Turkish powerhouses! He lifted the trophy with Anadolu Efes Istanbul in 2021 and did it again with Fenerbahce on Sunday.

...Scottie Wilbekin and Errick McCollum joined a list of EuroCup MVPs that also won the EuroLeague: Nick Calathes, Tyrese Rice, Alexey Shved and Jerian Grant are also part of his very exclusive club. 

...Wilbekin and McCollum joined a select group of players that won the EuroLeague and EuroCup titles. Only 24 players won both competitions. The list includes names such as Rudy Fernandez, Ricky Rubio, Mathias Lessort, Nick Calathes, Nando De Colo and Milos Teodosic. 

...Nicolo Melli and Marko Guduric both lost a Euroleague final with Fenerbahce in 2018… and were back in a championship game seven years later to win their first EuroLeague crown!

...Khem Birch and DyShawn Pierre join Anthony Bennett in a list of Canadian players that won the EuroLeague title! All of them won with Fenerbahce! 

...Jilson Bango is the first Angolan-born player to win the EuroLeague. Only two Angolan players have taken part in the EuroLeague, both this season: Bango and Real Madrid’s Bruno Fernando.

...Arturs Zagars has just become the first Latvian player to win the EuroLeague this century. As many as 28 Latvian-born players have played the EuroLeague since the competition started in 2000 but none of them lifted the trophy – until Sunday! 


Here are some facts about two-time Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champions Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul!

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul clamped down on AS Monaco to take the club’s second championship with a defense-dominated 70-81 victory in Abu Dhabi on Sunday night.

Defense delivered another title to Fenerbahce

There’s an old saying you might just have heard once or twice over the years: "Offense wins games, but defense wins championships."

And that old truism was demonstrated once again as [Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fenerbahce-beko-istanbul/ulk/) clamped down on [AS Monaco](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/as-monaco/mco/) to take the club’s second championship with [a defense-dominated 70-81 victory](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/fenerbahce-crowned-2025-champion-with-70-81-win-over-monaco/) in Abu Dhabi on Sunday night.

After limiting [Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/panathinaikos-aktor-athens/pan/?season=2024-25)’s explosive offense to 76 points in [Friday’s semifinal](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/fenerbahce-downs-panathinaikos-82-76-advances-to-championship-game/), the Turkish team reached an ever higher defensive level in the title decider.

The numbers speak for themselves: Monaco could only make 16 of its 42 two-point attempts (38.1%), recorded more turnovers (14) than assists (13), and mustered a team PIR of just 61.

Fenerbahce’s defense was particularly fierce during the most important moments of the game. Monaco scored just one field goal in the last 4 minutes of the second quarter, as the Turkish team grabbed the momentum to take a lead it would hold for the vast majority of the second half.

Game Videos

And later, when the fourth quarter started with Fener leading by just 3, the Roca Team was held to just one field goal and 4 total points in the first 5:47 of the crucial final period, allowing Saras Jasikevicius’s men to establish a double-digit margin that would ultimately prove decisive.

[Wade Baldwin](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/wade-baldwin-iv/009863/) – one of six Fener players to snare a steal on the night – believed that crucial run in the opening stages of the fourth quarter resulted from his team’s mental focus. “Monaco is going to play the way Monaco plays, they’re going to rough you up,” he said.

“We just stayed composed, we made good plays, got big rebounds and everybody stepped up defensively. That’s not an easy team to guard, but we did our job.”

Baldwin’s job was perhaps the most difficult of them all as he matched up against Monaco superstar [Mike James](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/mike-james/005985/), but he helped restrict the league’s all-time leading scorer to just 6 of 19 field goal attempts and only 2 assists.

Baldwin had words of immense respect for his adversary, saying: “The first name I heard \[when I came to Europe\] was Mike James. He’s considered one of the best American guards to play in EuroLeague. And to play against him in the final, to compete against him, to guard him, and to beat him…you can’t want anything more than that.”

Another crucial player for Fenerbahce’s defensive efforts was [Nicolo Melli](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nicolo-melli/002849/), whose modest numbers (5 points, 3 rebounds and 1 steal) don’t even come close to telling the story of his disruptive impact on Monaco’s offensive efforts.

And he said that he believes the team’s spirit made the difference: “We definitely won it with defense, but we also won it with character. We were down by \[9\] in the first half.

“These games are all about emotions, thoughts, feeling, momentum. But we were able to stay together and finished the half up, and after that I think we kept the control of the game in the second half.”

It’s a long-awaited first EuroLeague title for Melli, whose first spell with Fenerbahce started just after the team’s 2017 triumph.

And the 34-year-old was emotional as he reflected on the achievement, telling the EuroLeague YouTube channel’s postgame show: “Without being dramatic, I know what I’ve been through sport-wise, and being able to come back to Fener – where I always felt beloved – and being able to win the championship in the first year is just amazing.

“As players, we sacrifice a lot – time with the family, summers. You sacrifice for something, and today this something came.”

A sweet something that Fener and its fans will remember forever.

The Turkish team played with great discipline and physicality to subdue Monaco