By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Entering the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Round 30 clash with Barcelona in Istanbul, Fenerbahce Beko’s Nick Calathes was already an assist king, but he managed to take another crown.
As Sarunas Jasikevicius’ side beat Barcelona at the Ulker Sports Arena 88-74, Calathes became the EuroLeague’s all-time steals leader.
The experienced Greek point guard finished the match with 13 points, four rebounds, and three steals, eclipsing Dimitris Diamantidis from the top spot as a steals leader with 437 to his name.
Scottie Wilbekin led the Turkish team in scoring with 18 points, while Marko Guduric added 13. However, Nigel Hayes-Davis grabbed MVP honors with 12 points, five rebounds, five steals, and three assists for a PIR of 26. Tarik Biberovic also contributed 12 points.
“I feel very good. Our goal was to secure the victory and the head-to-head advantage. At one point in the match, we saw that we could both win and secure the head-to-head advantage. It was a very good team victory, especially in terms of standings. Today, the coach wanted me to play like the ‘defender of the year.’ Defense was very important to win today; the coach talked to us about the importance of defense before the match. We can’t break the EuroLeague’s three-point record every day, so it’s essential for us to play good defense. In terms of offense, we are very fortunate to have Scottie. Things weren’t going well for us at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but he stepped up at that moment and helped us a lot,” Hayes-Davis said.
On the other hand, Dario Brizuela stood out for Barcelona with 18 points, while Nicolas Laprovittola added 11.
Fenerbahce had a great opening to the match, starting with a 7-1 run and then taking a 19-6 lead, which led to them finishing the quarter with a 23-11 on the scoreboard. Jasikevicius’ players didn’t stop there, as they quickly expanded their surplus to 40-15 midway through the second period. Barcelona couldn’t fight back, and Fenerbahce had a big 46-25 lead after 20 minutes.
Roger Grimau’s players managed to respond after halftime and slowly trimmed the deficit. Minute by minute, the difference was getting thinner, but the hosts stayed in front 62-57 before the decisive quarter. Fenerbahce responded well after the short break and, with a 7-0 run, took back control and soon managed to put the game to bed, taking an unattainable 85-69 lead in the final minutes.
Head-to-head advantage for Fenerbahce
After losing in Palau Blaugrana 89-81, Fenerbahce even managed to take the head-to-head lead over Barcelona, and coach Sarunas Jasikevicius emphasized the importance of that since his side got closer to second place with a record of 19-11, while Barcelona is at 20-10.
“We won the match and secured the head-to-head advantage; it was a fantastic evening for us. Today, for most of the match, we showcased our potential, yet we almost completely let go of the game in the third quarter. Barcelona was doing whatever they wanted during this period. It’s not easy to bounce back and play excellent basketball after such a slump, so our reaction in the fourth quarter was truly incredible,” Jasikevicius said.
Still, the Lithuanian tactician is not pleased with one aspect of his team’s performance.
“As a coach, I need to look at the reasons behind our low assist count today (12); we needed to position ourselves better on the court and share the ball more effectively. Every point matters at this point in the season. Especially in the third quarter, things didn’t go well for us, yet once again, I’ll emphasize the reaction of my players. They showed an incredible reaction.”
The head coach of Barcelona, Roger Grimau, analyzed the match in short terms.
“We didn’t start the game too badly, but we missed too many open shots, and our defense wasn’t good enough. As a result, Fenerbahce punished us by finding the shots they wanted. The gap widened to 20 points in the second quarter; although we managed to come back in the second half, a couple of plays changed the momentum. After that point, Fenerbahce went on a 7-0 run, and this time we couldn’t react,” Grimau said.