By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Will Clyburn scored a season-high-tying 21 points as Anadolu Efes beat Fenerbahce BEKO 82 – 80 on the road to make a decisive step in its pursuit for a spot in the EuroLeague Play-In tournament.
Fener, which suffered just its second loss at home this season, missed its last chances to finish in the Top 4.
“Everybody knew what we’re fighting for. Obviously, we’re trying to get in the Play-In and everyone brought their best today,” Clyburn said. It was a statement performance for him as he explained himself.
“If anybody had any doubt who the best ‘3’ in Europe is, it’s still me. And it will be me.”
Efes entered crunch time up 69 – 76 before a sequence of big buckets by both teams. Fenerbahce approached 74 – 76 only for Rodrigue Beaubois to answer with a triple. Marko Guduric delivered a 3-pointer of his own and, on the other end, Shane Larkin hit a tough floater to put the visiting side beyond a shooting distance.
Tarik Biberovic kept Fener in the game from beyond the arc. After Elijah Bryant went 1 – 2 from the line, Nigel Hayes-Davis, who had an all-time EuroLeague record 50 points last week ,took a shot from afar to win the game but he misfired.
Shane Larkin contributed 15 points plus five assists to Efes‘ win. Beaubois dropped 10 points.
The most important one until the next
“Congratulations to both teams. It was a basketball fight all way through,” Efes coach Tomislav Mijatovic said. “Sincere congratulations to our guys. I was thinking of somethin smart to say that emphasizes the amount of pride and appreciation I have for them. It’s difficult to find the proper words. These guys are amazing. They are fighting. We are climbing one step at a time. We set a target for ourselves and every game is the most important game.”
Scottie Wilbekin had 17 points on 5-10 triples but also six turnovers for Fener. Marko Guduric dropped 15 points.
“We didn’t play our basketball. That’s for sure,” Fener coach Sarunas Jasikevicius said. “We didn’t manage to understand that we need to play as a team. Too many turnovers. We always say that these games are decided by small details. We made some crazy fouls that put Efes on the line. A couple of those, it’s immediately four points when every basket is so crucial. The fight was good in the end, the guys gave everything but ultimately we didn’t play our basketball.”