By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Fenerbahce beat Baskonia (82-77) and created a tie in the top spot of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings with Olympiacos, as both teams now share a 22-10 record.
Still, it wasn’t the best of Fenerbahce‘s nights with Nigel Hayes-Davis fouling out, but being the top scorer of his team with 17 points and seven rebounds.
“I want in this interview to be an appreciation for all the Fenerbahce staff”, said Hayes-Davis in the post-game interview, presenting the team’s equipment manager to the public.
“We want to stay solid, improve, and learn. I don’t think we really improved, but we won the game, and we had 15 good minutes in the first half”, he added about the game.
Nikos Rogkavopoulos, with 14 points, was the top scorer of Baskonia, which put up a fight until the end. However, they couldn’t make the big plays in the end and really turn the tide of the night, as they dropped to a 13-19 record tied with ASVEL in the 14th position.
A sloppy ending
The name of the game was defense for Fenerbahce, opening the first period with a 19-13 lead and extending their advantage at halftime to 14 points (46-32).
The hosts pushed their lead to 18 points (59-41), being in total control, and that was the point where the pride of Baskonia kicked in, leading to a 16-5 partial score, making it a seven-point game (64-57).
Still, Fenerbahce wasn’t rattled by closing the quarter up by 13 (72-59) and keeping things in check.
Baskonia once more made a 10-2 run, trimming the lead to five points (74-69) with six minutes left.
The game suddenly turned into a sloppy dogfight, and with one minute on the clock, Fenerbahce still had a five-point cushion (80-75)
Baskonia had the chance to make it a two-point game, but Chima Moneke missed a free throw, and then Nikos Rogkavopoulos couldn’t score. As a result, Marko Guduric sealed the deal (82-76) with five seconds left.
Photo credit: EuroLeague