By Antonis Stroggylakis / [email protected]
ABU DHABI – A tough loss for Olympiacos and especially Evan Fournier.
The 32-year-old French winger scored a season-high 31 points, but his side fell to AS Monaco and was eliminated from the championship game of the Final Four 2025.
With emotions running high, he struggled to hold back tears after the ending in Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena.
😔💔Evan Fournier could not hold back his tears after Olympiacos‘ defeat in the semi-final pic.twitter.com/xiXPspr9a8
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) May 23, 2025
“I have a very long career, played a lot of huge games. Won silver medal twice in the Olympics, a silver medal in EuroBasket, two bronze medals in the World Cup, played at a high level in the NBA, but I really wanted to celebrate something,” he explained his reaction to Greek sports television Novasports, “The way I have been working. It’s something I can’t even describe. I didn’t want to leave the court, seeing the fans on the stands. It was a really emotional game. I played with my heart. Sometimes, emotions get the best of you.”
Leading an unsuccessful comeback bid by the team coached by Giorgos Bartzokas, Fournier tallied 22 points in the second half. He ended up with 10/18 from the field, including four three-pointers, besides three rebounds, two steals, and two assists.
“We had to play more physical,” he also talked about the losing effort on Friday.
Following a battle with Panathinaikos Aktor for third place in the EuroLeague Final Four on Sunday, the eternal enemies of Greece will meet again in a best-of-five championship series of the Stoiximan GBL Playoffs. Game 1 is set to be played in OAKA Altion on Friday.
“I’m not thinking about that right now. The disappointment is too big,” confessed Fournier, “We are going to give everything we have in the next games.”