All of them were greeted with the traditional Emirati Al-Ayyala performance
Three teams have already touched down in Abu Dhabi
Final Four
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The first team to land in Abu Dhabi for the 2025 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four was AS Monaco, and it was greeted by loud and harmonious song. Members of the Mubarak Al Atiba Group were on hand to perform the Al-Ayyala, a traditional Emirati cultural performance. The same process was repeated when Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens and Olympiacos Piraeus touched down a few hours later.
Originally a ceremony used to welcome victorious warriors home from battle, today the Al-Ayyala is often performed to greet honored guests, such as the teams coming to Abu Dhabi to compete for the EuroLeague crown.
The ceremony consists of roughly 20 men in two rows facing each other, holding thin bamboo sticks that represent spears or swords. In between them are musicians beating drums, while the men chant melodic greetings. There were two falcons, with their handlers, among the performers.
The players were also offered traditional Arab coffee as part of the welcome ceremony.
The Monaco players were caught off guard by the ceremony with Jaron Blossomgame, Nick Calathes and Mam Jaiteh quickly whipping out their phones to film the ongoings.
While most of the players headed to their rooms after arriving, a few stopped by the cameras to answer a couple of questions. Monaco superstar Mike James expressed how happy he is to be here.
His Panathinaikos counterpart and EuroLeague MVP Kendrick Nunn sounded confident when it was his time to talk: "I feel great being here in Abu Dhabi. During our playoff run, I told my team we can't miss it. We have to be there. It's a great feeling. We will play two more games now and potentially win the championship.
"Ultimately, you have to go out there and put your best efforts to win the game and get a victory. It will be a team effort, but for sure, I will be ready. We have much more experience this year. It's my second year in the EuroLeague. I know what to expect a little bit more, so I'm going in with a little bit more experience, which helps."