By Semih Tuna/ STuna@eurohoops.net
Technically this is not a tale of two cities. Both Anadolu Efes and Fenerbahce Beko play in Istanbul. However, this is even bigger. It’s a tale of two continents with Efes‘s home court being on the European side of the city and Fenerbahce representing the Asian side.
These two powerhouses will clash at Sinan Erdem Dome on Friday, October 28.
One of the sides is the two-time defending EuroLeague champion run by Coach Ergin Ataman, while the other is enjoying a perfect start to the season under its new boss, Dimitris Itoudis.
Eurohoops takes a look back at the derby, which has become a modern classic in recent years. Here are the top five most-thrilling Istanbul derbies played on Efes home floor.
Anadolu Efes 71-80 Fenerbahçe – 2020/21
As the previous season’s championship hopes were crushed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Efes had been a roll since the 2018-19 season and was hosting Fenerbahce in Round 2 of the season. Shane Larkin was not with his teammates due to injury and Krunoslav Simon took the steering wheel for Efes. Even though the European side controlled the game through the first half, Fenerbahce took charge in the second. Nando De Colo grabbed the scoring duties while Lorenzo Brown and Edgaras Ulanovas played supporting roles as Fenerbahce claimed a road win over its archrivals.
Anadolu Efes 89-83 Fenerbahçe – 2018/19
Right before Anadolu Efes became a dominant force in the EuroLeague, it hosted Fenerbahce in Round 4 of the season. The previous season’s runner-up, Fenerbahce got off to a flying start with contributions from each player and a 14-point lead within the first 10 minutes of action. Still, Efes managed to dominate Fenerbahce in the frontcourt thanks to Adrien Moerman and Tibor Pleiss and ended the run. Moerman registered a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds while setting sail for one of the best seasons of his career as a star on the road to the Final Four for Efes.
Anadolu Efes 63-71 Fenerbahçe – 2013/14
It would be hard to say that this game is remembered for its quality. However, the importance of the game forced us to add it to this list. Efes and Fenerbahce played against each other for the first time in the EuroLeague during the 2013-14 season. Fenerbahce had just started writing a whole new and illustrious chapter with Zeljko Obradovic on the bench, while Anadolu Efes had parted ways with Oktay Mahmuti and the interim coach was Vangelis Aggelou, who was preparing the ground for Dusan Ivkovic once the legendary coach would take over with Aggelou as his top assistant. The game was a close-fought one until Bojan Bogdanovic (17 points) and Linas Kleiza stepped up and helped Fenerbahce get the win by allowing only 10 points for Efes in the final quarter.
Anadolu Efes 84-79 Fenerbahçe Beko – 2021/22
Efes didn’t have the best regular season last year, while Fenerbahce was fighting for a spot in the playoffs. The champs controlled most of the game thanks to the leadership of Vasilije Micic (24 points) and they took the lead up to 16 points at the beginning of the last quarter. The win was right around the corner. However, Fenerbahce went on a 2-15 run behind the efforts of Sehmus Hazer, Marko Guduric, Achille Polonara and Dyshawn Pierre. With only 56 seconds on the clock, Fenerbahce had a chance to win the game. Shane Larkin, despite a tough shooting night, aced a triple with 31 secs left on the clock to determine the winner. Fenerbahce suffered a big blow to its playoff chances and that loss ultimately was a key reason for it not advancing.
Anadolu Efes 73-77 Fenerbahçe – 2015/16
Dusan Ivkovic’s time at Anadolu Efes didn’t exactly go as planned or hoped. However, just two months before his departure, Efes played Fenerbahce with Cedi Osman and Dario Saric, who both were expected to leave the team in the summer, keeping the game on a string and having the upper hand. Fenerbahce was trying to stay alive through the contest thanks to Ekpe Udoh and Bogdan Bogdanovic, but ultimately the hero of the night was Fenerbahce captain, Melih Mahmutoglu, who had one of the best games of his EuroLeague career. He scored 14 pts in 10 minutes and took the game over for Fenerbahce to create a night to remember.