By EuroLeague team/ info@eurohoops.net
Fenerbahce was prepared for a big game in Istanbul and when all was said and done the hosts got the job done.
Playing against Olympiacos, Fenerbahce managed to start the season the right way getting the 82-71 win
A four-point play by Nigel Hayes-Davis pushed the lead to 10 (79-69) entering the last two minutes and closed the game the right way for Fener.
The Greeks are still missing the big men duo of Moustapha Fall and Nikola Milutinov and without them, Fenerbahce had a huge rebounding advantage (44-24).
Wade Baldwin with 19 points and seven assists was the top scorer of the winning side, Hayes-Davis had 15 and Bonzi Colson scored 10.
Moses Wright with 15 points and Shaq McKissic with 13 were the top scorers of Olympiacos, while Sasha Vezenkov added 11, and in total the team had 4/20 threes.
It was a tense game, that included a verbal spat between coaches Giorgos Bartokas and Sarunas Jasikevicius, and the ejection of a fan who verbally attacked MacKissic.
The Olympiacos player reacted and got a “T” and later he added: “Not even in the games against Panathinaikos I have witnessed something like that”.
Derby for 35 minutes
Boban Marjanovic started the game with six straight points and set the tone for Fenerbahce which closed the first period leading 17-13 but with Scottie Wilbekin carried out due to a knee injury.
Still, Fenerbahce led by seven (26-19) in the first minutes of the second quarter and that was the cue for Olympiacos to make its move and tied the game at 28 after a 9-2 run with McKissic scoring five quick points and dishing an assist.
Olympiacos continued the push, got the lead (32-30), and closed the first half being up by four (36-32).
Things changed in the second half with Fenerbahce getting a 47-42 lead after an 11-0 run with Baldwin reaching double digits (11 p.). Still, Olympiacos reacted and trailed by one (57-56) to end the third.
With the game on the line, it was obvious that details would decide everything and this happened with Bonzie Colson making a corner three (71-65), McKissic missing a layup, and then Hayes-Davis scoring (73-65) with four minutes left with Olympiacos not being able to react again.
Photo credit: EuroLeague