By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul registered back-to-back victories for the first time in the 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season, after beating hosts Zenit St Petersburg 86-80.
Big man Jan Vesely fired up 22 of his 32 total points in the first half on 2-of-3 from the three-point line for a new career-best performance in EuroLeague. Vesely came close to breaking also his PIR record (36), with 35 in this victory.
Nando De Colo, who became the All-Time PIR leader in EuroLeague last week, posted 18 points, 8 assists, and 2 steals for an index rating of 30. The French guard played terrific defense and provided big-time plays to send Fener to the win.
“We are just trying to be more focused on what we have to do better on the court because our start of the season is not the best one”, he said. “But we keep working and tonight, it is a great win for us. We won the game, so this is the most important. This game is for the team, for Marko [Guduric], who left us this morning. It is great to win to get back on track in the EuroLeague, especially.”
Dyshawn Pierre gave a five-point advantage (82-77) to Fenerbahce with two minutes to play and added up to the efforts with 13 points, while Devin Booker picked up 10.
Fenerbahce improved to a 5-9 record in the standings and hopes to extend its streak next week against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
On the other end of the court, Jordan Loyd posted 19 points for Zenit and Mindaugas Kuzminskas added 17 points, trying to push for a comeback in crunch time. The Russian side has now lost its third game in a row, to fall to an 8-6 record in the standings.
Photo: EuroLeague