By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Fenerbahce and Baskonia remained on the edge until the very beginning of the fourth quarter in an important clash for the Play-Ins stage. With a 10-0 scoring run to enter the last ten minutes, the hosts ran away, securing a final 111-96 victory and recording a new scoring record in the club’s history.
Nick Calathes, who ended the game with a double-double of 11 points and 12 assists, was fundamental for the yellow-and-blue side, also writing history by becoming the all-time steals leader in the EuroLeague, tied with Dimitris Diamantidis at 434. “It’s always nice to move the ball. It feels great to be in the name of a guy like that, who’s a great friend of mine”, he commented about it.
Nigel Hayes-Davis led in scoring with 19 points. “Offense was amazing from both teams, the ACB is naturally a more up-tempo team. Both teams were making shots, which means more possessions and more points”, he said after the win. “European John Stockton”, he said about Nick Calathes.
Coming back from a successful stint with the Turkish national team, making his debut with Ergin Ataman’s team against Italy in the 2025 EuroBasket Qualifiers, Tarik Biberovic was crucial from deep with 17 points over 5/6 from deep. Nate Sestina and Marko Guduric, instead, combined for 29 points.
“Everybody was really excited to play, in the defensive end we weren’t so good. That’s why we broke so many records. Win by one point was enough today”, Sarunas Jasikevicius talked about his team’s performance after the victory, emphasizing the importance of revolting the tie-break.
On the losing side, instead, Vanja Marinkovic led the Basque team in scoring with 18 points. Chima Moneke added 14 points in the defeat, while Codi Miller-McIntyre was close to a double-double with 8 points and 10 assists. Baskonia is now standing 8th with a 14-13 record.
Fenerbahce recorded a club record of 31 assists in the EuroLeague, showing a beautiful display of well-played basketball and always finding the open man from three-point range, shooting 19/34 (55.9%). Baskonia also shot great from beyond the arc with 14/26 (53.8%).
Thanks to a huge three-pointer by Markus Howard, concluding perfectly his 28-point night back on December 6, Baskonia won the first clash of the EuroLeague season with Fenerbahce in the final seconds of the encounter. That time, Dusko Ivanovic’s team prevailed 80-79.
This won’t be the last game against a Spanish opponent for Sarunas Jasikevicius’ team, considering the next three encounters for Fenerbahce will see them squaring off with Real Madrid, Valencia, and Barcelona. Baskonia, instead, will host ALBA Berlin in Round 28 on March 8 at 20:30 CET.
PHOTO CREDIT: Turkish Airlines EuroLeague