By Semih Tuna/ STuna@eurohoops.net
Technically this is not a tale of two cities. Both Anadolu Efes and Fenerbahce Beko play in Istanbul. However, this is even bigger. It’s a tale of two continents with Efes‘s home court being on the European side of the city and Fenerbahce representing the Asian side.
These two powerhouses will clash at Sinan Erdem Dome on Friday, October 28.
One of the sides is the two-time defending EuroLeague champion run by Coach Ergin Ataman, while the other is enjoying a perfect start to the season under its new boss, Dimitris Itoudis.
Eurohoops takes a look back at the derby, which has become a modern classic in recent years. Here are the top five most-thrilling Istanbul derbies played on Efes home floor.
Anadolu Efes 71-80 Fenerbahçe – 2020/21
As the previous season’s championship hopes were crushed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Efes had been a roll since the 2018-19 season and was hosting Fenerbahce in Round 2 of the season. Shane Larkin was not with his teammates due to injury and Krunoslav Simon took the steering wheel for Efes. Even though the European side controlled the game through the first half, Fenerbahce took charge in the second. Nando De Colo grabbed the scoring duties while Lorenzo Brown and Edgaras Ulanovas played supporting roles as Fenerbahce claimed a road win over its archrivals.