By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
It’s a crazy number, still, Fenerbahce got 50 rebounds with 30 of them being offensive.
However, despite the huge advantage over Paris, which got 29 in total, the game proved to be a dogfight, with Fenerbahce getting the crucial 87-83 road win in a rescheduled game from the 17th round.
Marko Guduric, with 19 points, led a balanced Fenerbahce effort. Nigel Hayes-Davis and Tarik Biberovic added 14 points each, while Wade Baldwin added 11.
“Offensive rebounds kept us in the game,” Guduric said. “Then in the second half we did a much better job defensively. We were really physical and that was the key. We got confidence from getting stops and then we ran and made shots.”
The 30 offensive rebounds tied the EuroLeague record, which was also registered in the past by CSKA Moscow.
TJ Shorts with 22 points, eight assists, and no turnovers, plus Nadir Hifi with 15 points and big shots down the stretch tried to save the day for the home team, but couldn’t.
Thanks to this result, Fenerbahce remains in sole possession of the second spot in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings with an 18-9 record, while Paris dropped to 16-11 on a tie between the fourth and seventh position with Monaco, Crvena Zvezda, and Bayern Munich.
A fight until the end
Paris opened the game leading 26-16 after the first period and got a solid 45-37 halftime lead.
However, things changed in the third quarter, thanks to a partial score of 24-6, with Fenerbahce getting a nine-point advantage (61-52).
Paris’ answer was an 8-0 run, and thanks to two free throws by Guduric, Fenerbahce closed the period up by three (63-60).
The hosts opened the last quarter with five quick points (65-63) to take the lead back. However, Fenerbahce managed to score nine unanswered points, including four by Wade Baldwin and a three by Biberovic, entering the last three minutes with a seven-point cushion (78-71).
Paris didn’t back down and made it a three-point game (78-75) after a big three by Nadir Hifi.
Nigel Hayes-Davis made two crucial free throws (80-75), Hifi scored again (80-78), and Baldwin, entering the last minute, gave Fener a four-point advantage (82-78).
Shorts scored right after (82-80), Devon Hall missed, but Baldwin got the offensive rebound, and Guduric, with a goal-foul with 12 seconds on the clock, put Fener up by five (85-80).
Hifi scored again a three (85-83) six seconds before the final buzzer. Hall was fouled and redeemed himself with one made free throw (86-83), his first point in the game.
He missed the second, and due to Hayes-Davis’ pressure, Kevarrius Hayes lost the ball that went out of bounds. Hall was fouled again before the inbound pass, he made one more free throw (87-83), Fenerbahce got the ball, and the game was over.