By Eurohoops Team / info@eurohoops.net
Fenerbahce Istanbul continued its impressive Turkish Airlines EuroLeague run this season, after defeating AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milano, 92 – 85 for its eighth straight victory. Zeljko Obradovic‘s squad improved to an incredible 11-1 record, while the visiting side from Milan, slipped to 6-6.
With five assists from Mike James and eight in total as a team, Milan went up by six points (15-21) in the first quarter, forcing Fenerbahce to shoot just 41% from the field. The hosts went on a 17-7 run in the second quarter with Kostas Sloukas orchestrating the offense, and so after 15′, they had a four-point advantage (32-28). And even though the hosts tried to pull away, Arturas Gudaitis with his offensive work down low, leveled the score by the half-time break (40-40).
The second half, however, was a different story. Fenerbahce’s fierce defense, and the team’s incredible frontcourt duo of Jan Vesely and Joffrey Lauvergne, who dominated the third quarter, put them up by nine points (58-49), forcing coach Simone Pianigiani to call a time-out. Eventually, the period ended 67-58 with Fener having a certainly big advantage for the remaining ten minutes.
In the final period, Fenerbahce even went up ahead by double-digits, thanks to Sloukas‘ free-throws (77-65). The visitors were not done just yet. With James’ incredible offensive repertoire and tough shots, they went on a 0-8 run and made it a one-possession game (79-76). In the final two minutes of regulation, Guduric responded with two clutch back-to-back three-pointers that eventually put the hosts up by eight points (87-79), and since that point, Olimpia could not come back, despite Mike James’ huge night.
“In the first half we were a little bit nervous with our decisions offensively and also they took 10 offensive rebounds. And they scored some very easy baskets. So, we changed and the results in the third quarter were much better. In the last quarter, we believed the game was over, but this is EuroLeague and you need to play fight until the final second. However, we played well and had a good game. We need to continue with this tough schedule and be ready for the next game. Congratulations to my team for the win and that they fought until the end,” said Zeljko Obradovic after the final buzzer. As he explained, Fener‘s head coach was extremely happy in the final seconds of regulation, thanking the team’s fans.
Marko Guduric was Fenerbahce’s best player, as he locked the game down with two three-pointers. The 23-year old finished with 20 points. After having an all-around impressive game last week in Athens against Panathinaikos OPAP, Vesely had another good performance, on Thursday night against Milan as well with 17 points and five rebounds.
On the other hand, for Milan, James had his best EuroLeague performance, as he exploded for a career-high 31 points, six three-pointers (6/13) and six assists, but wasn’t enough to complete the comeback for Pianigiani’s side.
For more EuroLeague news, click here!