By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Until the 31st minute Lokomotiv Kuban was in control at Istanbul. Still basketball is a 40 minutes game and Fenerbahce restored the order in the last quarter on the way to a 85-79 win.
Thanks to a 12-2 run the players of Zeljko Obradovic came back in the game and with a partial score 34-19 in the fourt quarter got their way. Bogdan Bogdanovic with 18 points, Jan Vesely with 17 and Gigi Datome with 16 exploded in crunch time and secured the result. To be exact Vesely and Datome sealed the deal in the last seconds and Bogdanovic made the most crucial shot in the game, a three that gave to Fenerbahce a 73-70 lead with 2,5 minutes left on the clock.
Τhe first quarter didn’t hold any surprises, as both teams walked side by side, staying close in the score with the hosts finishing the first 10 minutes having a two points lead (20-18). However, that made the second period even more amazing.
To be exact the game changed in the last four minutes of the first half when Lokomotiv Kuban thanks to a 14-2 run got a 45-37 lead after trailing by four (35-31). Victor Claver finished the first half with 15 points on 3/3 three pointers, making Fenerbahce’s defense pay for being totally focused on Malcolm Delaney. With the team leader scoring just 6 points, the rest of the team took over the offense and Lokomotiv made 16/34 field goals, 8/17 of them behind the three points arc.
Nothing change in the third period, which ended with Lokomotiv having a nine points lead (60-51), but the end belonged to Fenerbahce. Claver finished the game with 21 points on 5/5 threes and 7 rebounds, a great night for him which wasn’t sealed by a big win.