By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
It was a close game, but Fenerbahce Beko prevailed in the end, leading throughout the entire final period with Scottie Wilbekin paving the way with 17 points for a third straight win, and a 4-1 EuroLeague score.
Bayern Munich eventually paid the price for scoring just nine points in the third quarter. They managed to trim the deficit to just two in the last 10 minutes, but dropped the chance to tie the score and lost 67-76, falling to 2-3 after five rounds.
Wilbekin had a terrific game, finishing with a season-high PIR of 23. He shot 4/7 from beyond the arc, dished five assists, and grabbed five rebounds with just one turnover.
“I was able to get some open looks off the dribble and just knock them down. We did a better job in the second half on rebounding; we still can get a little bit better, so that’s something we have to work on. Positive win overall,” Fenerbahce’s player of the match said.
Marko Guduric followed him with 14 points and six rebounds, while big guys Georgios Papagiannis and Johnatathan Motley added nine points each.
“Little things that make a big difference when you play against Fenerbahce”
Bayern lost the rebounding battle, allowing 17 offensive rebounds to their opponent, 48 overall, and couldn’t find the shooting rhythm, hitting just six three-pointers out of 29 attempts for only 20.7% from beyond the arc.
Individually, Bayern also lacked a player to take the responsibility in the dying moments, with only Sylvain Francisco scoring in double digits in the end, finishing with 11 points. Andreas Obst, Serge Ibaka, and Devin Booker added nine points each, with the US center grabbing six rebounds for a team-high PIR of 16.
“We were not able to execute well during important plays of the game. We had moments when we were right there, playing tough. There’s nothing to blame about the kids. They played hard, but we weren’t able to execute in the right moments. We made some stupid mistakes that hurt us, including some offensive rebounds and open jumpers that we missed. These are the little things that make a big difference when you play against Fenerbahce,” German side’s head coach Pablo Laso said in the aftermath
Fenerbahce Strolls to Fifth Straight Victory in EuroLeague and BSL
The Turkish side found a way to secure their fifth consecutive victory in EuroLeague and BSL, rising above injury troubles, with Yam Madar out and Tyler Dorsey just returning from the sidelines.
Dimitris Itoudis’ team lost the first period in the Audi Dome, managed to turn the score around by halftime, and made an impressive defensive effort in the third period, which ultimately proved decisive. Fenerbahce remained composed even when Bayern threatened to turn the score around in the final moments, securing another crucial win in EuroLeague.
“We needed to come back in the second half with a different defensive mindset, and that’s exactly what we did in the third quarter. Even though we went scoreless for an extended period, we played strong defense and disrupted the productivity of their guards. We stayed together, had a better mindset in the second half, and that led us to victory,” Itoudis said.
His side will face a challenging task in keeping the winning streak alive as they host Olympiacos in Round 6 (2/11), while Bayern travels to Belgrade to face the struggling Crvena Zvezda, who just suffered their fourth consecutive defeat, losing to Partizan in the Eternal Derby in Dusko Ivanovic’s successor Ioannis Sfairopoulos’ EuroLeague debut with the team.