By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
After moving together from Maccabi to Fenerbahce, Bonzie Colson and Wade Baldwin have set the bar high and at the dawn of the season, they are meeting expectations.
The two of them were the main scoring weapons of Fenerbahce on the way to an 83-78 road win over Anadolu Efes in Istanbul, moving to a perfect 2-0 start in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
Colson finished the game with 16 points making early damage, while Baldwin had 15, including two big shots in the fourth quarter. Nigel Hayes-Davis and Arturs Zagars added 11 points each and Khem Birch had 10.
For the losing side, Dan Oturu was a menace in the paint with 21 points, Elijah Bryant scored 15 points until getting ejected and Rodrigue Beaubois added 11 points. Shane Larkin with nine points and six assists was also a factor in the last come-back effort by Efes, however, he couldn’t save the day.
Efes had in total 6/30 threes-pointers, while Fenerbahce shot 55% (15/27) from the same distance.
“It’s the best way to learn right now,” Fenerbahce coach Sarunas Jasikevicius said, before analyzing why LeBron James is not joining his team. “Maybe some of these runs by Efes could be avoided, and it will be a great feeling tomorrow to watch the video and learn from this as a team. Learning with wins is always a little more pleasant.
Big shot Bonzie
Colson set the tone early as he scored 14 points in the first period on 100% efficiency leading Fenerbahce to a 27-21 lead. While Efes was near, the guests simply had the advantage, pushed the lead even to 13 points (26-13), and kept it at halftime (46-37).
The start of the third period was again all about Fenerbahce, which had a 6-0 run for a 15-point advantage (52-37).
With Elijah Bryant reaching 15 points Efes trimmed the lead to eight (56-48), however, in the next play with Tarik Biberovic scoring (58-48) the two players got tangled up under the basket. Fenerbahce’s forward grabbed Bryant’s head and he retaliated. As a result, both were ejected and the period ended with guests still up by nine (60-51) thanks to a shot by Zagars.
The push by Efes continued as Stanley Johnson with a three made it a six-point game (60-54). Fenerbahce reacted with an 8-0 run which included two three-pointers by Baldwin and order was restored (68-54).
At that point, the comeback of Efes started with an admirable 20-6 partial score, and the two teams entered the final two minutes tied, but Fenerbahce had the last word.
Zagars with 1/2 free throws and a three, plus Marko Guduric with the biggest three of the game, created a seven-point cushion (81-74) and Efes couldn’t get back into sticking distance.
“We didn’t win the rebounding battle today,” Efes coach Tomislav Mijatovic sid. “And a couple of possessions that go both ways. Basketball is a game of details. Unfortunately today that didn’t roll our way. But we don’t pray for our good fortune, we have to earn it.”
Photo credit: EuroLeague