By Stefan Djordjevic/ sdjordjevic@eurohoops.net
Fenerbahce BEKO displayed a strong defensive effort on their way to an 81-59 home win over LDLC ASVEL in Round 17 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
Jan Vesely and Marko Guduric led the way with 16 points each followed by Nando De Colo and Melih Mahmutoglu’s 12 points each.
“I feel great. It’s important to protect home court and I’m glad we did that. I think we did a good job defensively. We received only 59 points. This is the way. I think we are showing good energy, good character. This is the way, like I said. We needed this and this is important. We need to gain some confidence for future games and I think this is a good way,” Guduric said.
For the French squad, which interestingly logged higher percentages on three-pointers rather than the twos, David Lighty scored 11 and Norris Cole ten points.
ASVEL was off to a better start, leading 19-11 in teh first quarter but Fenerbahce was the team with the lead at halftime (38-32).
Fener‘s defense led to good offense and their fastbreak, especially off turnovers, coupled with the control of the paint on both sides, was the main reason for the 59-42 lead at the end of the third quarter. At that point, it was all over for the Frenchmen who couldn’t bounce back and Fenerbahce didn’t allow them to get closer than a 14-point margin (61-47).
Fener improved to 7-10, the same record as Maccabi, while ASVEL now stands at 5-11.
Coach Igor Kokoskov was also happy with the win and how his squad recovered from a slow start: “I feel good. There is no such thing as a bad win in this league. We know we have to work hard, that every possession matters, every point matters. We didn’t open the game well, but we found a way to fight back, to find that group that gave us energy, that gave us a voice. And it was about defensive stops. We have enough talent to find a way to score, but to keep this team on 59 points was a key for the game tonight. We have a very good group of guys and we are willing to play the right way. We are very unselfish… We move the ball, we share the ball, we play second side and play as a group.”