By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz forced a Game 4 against Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul after protecting their home court with an 88-83 win. The total score in the series is now 2-1 for the Turkish side as this was the first loss for Fenerbahce in the Euroleague’s playoffs since Zeljko Obradovic became their coach back in 2013.
With Marko Guduric nailing three shots behind the arc in the third quarter Fenerbache cut the lead to only one point before the start of the last period (67-66). However, Jannis Timma stepped up late in the game with 8 straight points in the fourth quarter after being scoreless in the first 30 minutes of the game. Baskonia‘s defense in the last quarter also played a big part in the win as the visitors scored their first points in that period after almost five minutes. The hosts had a 15-0 run in the meantime (82-68). Fenerbahce managed to cut this lead, even to six (86-80) but couldn’t steal the game.
Baskonia was on the edge of the cliff with two loss in Istanbul and Rodrigue Beaubois felt he has to take the responsibility for the Spanish side. He started the game with nailing three triples in the first five minutes of the game. Baskonia was up by 8 (18-10) midway through the first quarter. However, Fenerbahce bounced back quickly with an 8-0 run to tie the game.
With a 10-0 run late in the second quarter Baskonia finished the first half with a 47-38 lead. In the second half Baskonia’s pick and roll’s execution was on a high-level as Fenerbache defense couldn’t stop it. Beaubois finished the game with 21 points and 5 assists while Marcelinho Huertas added 11 points and 7 assists.
Jan Vesely and Kostas Sloukas both had double-double game, but not even that couldn’t stop Baskonia. Vesely had 17 points and 10 boards while Sloukas scored 14 points and dished 11 assists.
Photo credit: Euroleague