By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Jan “Air” Vesely roared above CSKA‘s basket to pace Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul to an 89-83 victory in Moscow for Round 21 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague to improve to an 11-10 record.
Vesely finished the game with 24 points and 6 rebounds for a total PIR of 32 and a stunning performance in crunchtime to put his team ahead.
Nando De Colo tapped 22 points, 9 assists and 4 rebounds against his former team, with which he won the EuroLeague championship twice (2016, 2019). Jarrell Eddie also had a major contribution in the second half and left the game with 17 points.
A tough battle between two of the last three EuroLeague champions heated up in the third quarter as Fener seized control and the lead, to rout their opponents with a four-point lead (54-50, 26′). The Army Team quickly reacted and with a few fast runs on the offensive end stayed up 66-63 after 30 minutes, though Vesely and Marko Guduric (8 points) completely turned the tables in the fourth period to help the Turkish team escape with their sixth victory in a row.
“We played the leading team in the Euroleague on their court. We know it’s a tough place to play. All credit goes to all of our guys. Even the guys who didn’t play, they were engaged, they were supporting the guys on the court. […] Could we find enough energy to complete the game? And can we have enough size? But energy, effort and desire substituted all this stuff that we were missing tonight, and I am very happy for our guys. All credit goes to the players”, said Fenerbahce coach Igor Kokoskov after the game.
Tornike Shengelia paced the hosts with 18 points and 4 assists, while Nikola Milutinov, Daniel Hackett and Janis Strelnieks all tapped 12 points for CSKA. Mike James added up to the list of top scorers with 11 points. The Russian side will look to bounce back from a two-game slip and its 15-6 record in the upcoming double-game week.
Photo: EuroLeague