By Eurohoops Team / info@eurohoops.net
Fenerbahce BEKO got back on the winning track, after easily defeating Panathinaikos OPAP Athens, 85 – 66 in Istanbul for Round 22 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. Fener became the first team in the competition to qualify to the 2019 playoffs.
The game was over since the first half, despite the fact that Rick Pitino’s side started the game off on the right foot (2-8). Fenerbahce responded perfectly and ended the first quarter on a high note (24-18).
The second period, however, was the key to Fener’s 19th win. Since the second minute of the quarter (25-24), the hosts went on a 23-5 run that put them up by 19 points (48-29). Panathinaikos couldn’t respond in the second half, as Fener was shooting efficiently from the field (65.6% 2FG) (41.4% 3FG), while the Greek team shot poorly from beyond the arc (22.2%).
With five minutes remaining, Zeljko Obradovic’s squad even went up by 28 points (78-50). 18-year old Tarik Biberovic also got his first EuroLeague appearance and even scored two points.
11 of the 12 players from the winners scored, while four of them finished in double-figures. Nicolo Melli was the MVP of the night, as he had a team-high 14 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Luigi Datome, Erick Green and Marko Guduric all finished with 12 points.
“Our main goal for the season was to be in the top eight. Congrats to the players for everything they’ve done so far. We played a good game tonight – it was necessary to stop their transition game and I believe this was the key. We didn’t have many turnovers in the first half, which stopped their opportunities to run. We discussed that we had to control the game in that way. Nicolo Melli always works hard for the team, he’s an important player and I’m very happy with him, it doesn’t matter if he scores,” said Zeljko Obradovic after the final buzzer.
For Panathinaikos, Sean Kilpatrick scored a game-high 19 points, but most of his buckets came in the final minutes of the contest.
The hosts improved to a 19-3 record, while the visitors slipped to 9-13.
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