By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
After serving his one-game suspension Tarik Biberovic returned with 12 points and Fenerbahce BEKO did what was expected in Berlin against ALBA.
The Turkish contenders got the 78-70 win and have a solid 3-1 record in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, while the Germans dropped to 1-3.
Nigel Hayws-Davis was the top scorer with 14 points, Wade Baldwin had 13 points, and Nicolo Melli added 12 for the winning side which had in total 13/30 threes, while ALBA shot 6/23.
“Everybody needs to feel part of the game. We’re still finding our way,” Baldwin told EuroLeague TV afterward. “We’re a relatively new team. I think we just need to play a little bit faster – find our rhythm, get guys going, and have some fun.”
Trevion Williams and Matteo Spagnolo scored 12 points each, Martin Hermannsson with 11, and Louis Olinde with 10 were the top scorers of the hosts.
Difference of quality
Despite missing Marko Guduric for the second straight game, Fenerbahce was simply stronger and it was obvious from the get-go, or to be more exact from the second period.
ALBA completed the first 10 minutes leading by one (16-15) but Fenerbahce’s shot started falling in and got a 38-31 advantage at halftime with 10 made threes with Tarik Biberovic scoring all his 12 points on 4/5 attempts from beyond the arc and setting the tone.
With the hosts in the backseat, Fenerbahce led by 11 (58-47) to end the third period and by 13 (63-50) in the fourth, while the best that ALBA could do was to make it a six-point game (64-58) with four minutes left.
Fenerbahce answered back with a 7-2 run (71-60) and the game was over as ALBA couldn’t get into sticking distance again.
Photo credit: EuroLeague