By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Although Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv had a slightly better start to the game, Fenerbahce took over going forward and grabbed a 90-79 home win.
Scottie Wilbekin drained a triple as Maccabi managed to cut the gap (70-49) to just five points (79-74) with two minutes remaining but Fenerbahce answered thanks to Devin Booker and Nando De Colo. The duo scored Fener’s next 11 points, putting them back up in double-digits and sealing the deal.
Booker finished with game-high 22 points while De Colo followed up right behind with 21 and the two were the only double-digit scorers for the Turkish team. Marko Guduric and Pierria Henry added nine points each.
Booker was wary of a comeback and was ready to respond when the time came.
“Just come out focused and with a lot of energy. We did that okay in the first half and in the second half, we kind of let our focus slip, made a lot of mistakes. I was talking about it at halftime, we had to stay focused and we didn’t do it, and we blew up a 21-point lead. But we came out with the win. We fought hard in the end and got the win that we needed. Hopefully, we can keep that momentum going to the second game this week.”
De Colo admitted the win felt good but there’s more that can be done to improve.
“It is a good feeling but we are working hard every day to be there. Now, we need to keep working and keep the focus like we did lately. I think we had to control the game much better before, but this is what happened tonight, and I think we came back good when they were back in the game, and that’s it. We know how to play a little bit better together, so this is important for a game like this and to finish good,” he said.
For Maccabi, James Nunnally scored 18 in addition to Wilbekin’s 14 and Keenan Evans’ 13 points. Evans also dished seven assists while Ante Zizic logged nine points and 11 boards.
After 15 Euroleague Rounds, Fenerbahce improved to 6-9 and got closer to Maccabi which holds a 7-8 record after this outcome.