By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
With Nicolo Melli and Marco Guduric scoring at will and Nikola Kalinic setting the tone with his defense and hustle, Fenerbahce Dogus got the 92-83 win over Kirolbet Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz in Game 4 of their playoffs series.
After a good start and a six points lead at the end of the first period (25-19), Fenerbahce scored 23 points and kept the hosts to 13 points in the second quarter, building on the way a solid 48-32 halftime lead. There was not coming back after that for Baskonia.
Guduric scored 22 points, Melli had 21, while Kalinic contributed 13 points, with six of them in the second period when the champs got a clear advantage. Fenerbahce even lead by 20 (68-48) in the middle of the third, Baskonia reacted but couldn’t get closer than seven (69-62). The Turks entered the last quarter with a ten-point lead (72-62) after a crucial three by Bobby Dixon and kept things in check until the final buzzer.
Vincent Poirier had 14 points for the losing side, however, Baskonia after the bad second period couldn’t get catch up with Fenerbahce. The defense of the champs was clicking, forcing the hosts to 16 turnovers and also keeping them to 16 assists.
This will be a fourth straight Final Four for the Turkish champs. Fenerbahce will face Zalgiris Kaunas in the semifinal as the Lithuanians made it to their first Final Four since 1999.