By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Krunoslav Simon scored a game-high 22 points, grabbed a game-best nine rebounds and dished out four assists as Anadolu Efes won the Istanbul derby against Fenerbahce Beko 81 – 73 on the road. It was the first away victory of Efes over Fenerbahce in EuroLeague.
“It is always tough to play against them, but we showed one more time that we are a great team, that we are playing altogether and of course, it is an important win for us,” Simon said to Euroleague TV after the game. “It is the best part of our team – in every game, someone else is playing well. So it is tough to play against us and I hope we will continue in this mode.”
Simon also made a key play down the stretch when he drove to the basket to bury the floater and win the foul for the 67 – 76 with less than 80 seconds remaining. Fenerbahce had made a 0-11 run in few minutes to come back from a 17-point deficit and cut the margin to two possessions when Kostas Sloukas drained the triple for the 67 – 73.
Shane Larkin scored a basket to make his own points 20 (all of them in the second half) and then Simon pretty much secured Efes’ victory with a transition layup for the 71 – 80 with 30 seconds to play. Coach Ergin Ataman’s squad remains the top team in the standings, having improved its record to 11-2 following what was their seventh straight win.
Derrick Williams dropped 16 points, Nando De Colo 13 while Kostas Sloukas has 12 points seven assists and six rebounds for Fener that dropped to 5-8.
A comeback left undone
Fenerbahce tried to recover after falling back by 17 points in the fourth period but it was too turn the game around completely, as coach Zeljko Obradovic said.
“Before the game, we tried to prepare ourselves to play aggressive defense against the team that leads the EuroLeague,” Obradovic said in the post-game presser. “We started the game very well, we had the rhythm to score very easy points in the first half. The game was decided in the third quarter. After the third quarter, it was hard to come back in the game. Efes has players that can control the game.”
Photo credit: EuroLeague