By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
After five straight losses, Fenerbahce Beko won for a second consecutive time, with a 79-71 victory against Bayern Munich at home.
Johnathan Motley dominated under the rims, scoring 22 points with 17 rebounds! All of that for a PIR of 38. Scottie Wilbekin followed with 11 points, while Carsen Edwards and Nick Calathes added nine points each.
“I am really just glad we won, that’s all I care about”, said Motley after the game. “It is really important for us to get back in the win column. We started so well and we have been in a drought, and I think we got two in a row, so I am very happy about that: That is all I really care about”.
Augustine Rubit led Bayern with 21 points, and Cassius Winston followed him with 12.
The guests had a better opening to the match, leading for the bigger part of the first quarter, but Fenerbahce went to the first break with a 19-18 lead. From there, the hosts took control and stayed in front throughout the second period, leaving for halftime with a 46-39 advantage.
As Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul head coach Dimitris Itoudis said: “We were in control of the game. We were very composed. Congratulations to the athletes, to our players, because we were coming from, let’s say, a bad point in terms of fighting on boards and giving up a lot of offensive rebounds [in Round 18 against Panathinaikos]; 26 was the number. We hustled today and were there to support every jumper; well-created, good jumpers. We were shooting the ball pretty well, but we had big numbers on the boards”.
With a massive 16-2 run after the break, Fenerbahce grabbed a 23-point lead (66-43), but Bayern refused to give up. Even though they had an 18-point deficit at the beginning of the final period, Andrea Trinchieri’s team made a 12-0 run and came within eight points difference (69-61).
Fenerbahce stayed focused, responded correctly, and kept the lead until the end, grabbing a significant victory.
“Obviously, on +25 if I am not mistaken, we thought that the game was over, but let’s give credit to the EuroLeague, to this competition, to Bayern, obviously, and to each and every team”, admitted coach Itoudis, while F C Bayern coach Andrea Trinchieri had his own issues.
As Trinchieri said: “I give you numbers: 44-25 [rebounds]. You cannot play [like that], and only one three was made in the second half. That’s the game. They killed us under our boards, and offensive rebounds, and you cannot play basketball at this level if you don’t grab your defensive rebounds. That’s it”.