By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul prevailed over Herbalife Gran Canaria on the road with an 82-64 victory in Round 19 of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
Nikola Kalinic and Jan Vesely were the visitors’ leading scorers with 16 and 13 points each, while Kostas Sloukas followed with 11 points and six assists.
Despite being two teams of opposing spectrums (the Spanish side allows the most ppg with 87.5, while the Turkish side only 75.1), the game turned out to be not so easy for the visitors, as Gran Canaria (6-13) didn’t go down without a fight in the second half, although it wasn’t long before Fener took charge.
“We came prepared, knowing that many teams have struggled against Gran Canaria. The truth is that they never give up, they fight until the end, though I think we deserved the victory”, commented Zeljko Obradovic after the game.
Kim Tillie’s game-high 21-point performance was overshadowed by Fenerbahce’s late run in the fourth period, that helped them improve to a 17-2 record while remaining on top of the standings.
Interestingly, the battle is not over for the Spanish team, as the current results and the standings pace them only a couple wins away from the playoffs zone. Anything can happen!