By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Baskonia managed to extend its winning streak to four games after beating Fenerbahce Beko at home 77-62 in a tough contest that turned into a one-team show in the final quarter for Round 31 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
Fenerbahce got ahead 40-32 at halftime though the hosts’ reaction was quick in the second half to recover the deficit and take a one-point lead after 30 minutes and completely took control of both ends in the final period to secure the victory. With this win, Baskonia improves to an 11-15 record to still remain in playoffs contention while they also evened the regular-season series against their visitors (Fener won 75-53 in Round 16).
Wade Baldwin stepped up big time for Neven Spahija’s squad and took crucial shots to finish the game with 24 points (5-of-8 from deep), six assists, and six rebounds.
Alec Peters added up to the efforts of the hosts with 16 points, Rokas Giedraitis and Steven Enoch both shared 12 points apiece and Simone Fontecchio was added to the list of top scorers with 10 points.
Coach Spahija praised his players’ efforts post-game, even if a qualification to the playoffs at this point doesn’t only rely on Baskonia’s performance. “My players are heroes, for me, what we’re going through lately and how we’re playing. Every game for us is a final. We have no right to lose, we’re going to fight. For sure one day we’ll lose a game, but until that we’ll give our best to continue”, he stated.
Jan Vesely led all scorers of the Turkish side with 15 points, 9 rebounds, while Marko Guduric added 12 points and 6 assists. Fenerbahce, which also saw Nando De Colo going down in the first half with an injury, has now lost its fourth consecutive game to drop to a 9-14 record.
Next on
Baskonia travels to Monaco Friday for their Round 32 meeting (19:00 CET), while Fenerbahce visits Barcelona on the same game night (21:00 CET).
Photo credit: EuroLeague