EuroLeague runner-ups hold their ground vs Zalgiris 4

Fenerbahce Istanbul remained undefeated and joined CSKA Moscow atop the standings by downing Zalgiris Kaunas 82:68 at home on Wednesday. Fenerbahce improved to 3-0, while Zalgiris dropped to 1-2.

Ekpe Udoh and Jan Vesely led the winners with 14 points apiece. Udoh added 8 rebounds while Vesely made 8 of 8 free throws. Pero Antic added 11 points, Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 10 and Kostas Sloukas dished 11 assists for Fenerbahce.

Leo Westermann led Zalgiris with 15 points, Brock Motum scored 14 and Arturas Milaknis 10 for the guests.

Despite being outrebounded 23-26, Fenerbahce hit 21-of-22 free throws (95.5%) and had 22 assists to just 11 turnovers. Fenerbahce limited Zalgiris to just 26.9% three-point shooting (7 of 26) while hitting 47.4% of its shots from downtown (9 of 19).

Back-to-back triples by Westermann gave Zalgiris an early 2:6 lead. Luigi Datome and Antic answered from downtown to put Fenerbahce in charge, 10:8. Kevin Pangos stepped up for Zalgiris and Motum followed a layup with a corner three-pointer to restore an 18:19 Zalgiris lead. Both teams kept scoring at full speed, but back-to-back baskets by Bogdanovic, a jumper by James Nunnally and an alley-oop layup by Udoh gave Fenerbahce a 28:24 edge after 10 minutes.

A three-point play by Antanas Kavaliauskas and a driving layup by Westermann brought Zalgiris a bit closer, 32:29, early in the second quarter. Fenerbahce found a go-to guy in Udoh, who scored three times around the basket to boost his team’s lead to 42:34. A triple by Motum and a close basket by Bogdanovic fixed the halftime score at 44:37.

A three-point play by Westermann and a corner three-pointer by Milaknis caused Fenerbahce to call timeout at 49:45 soon after the break. Bogdanovic stepped up with a layup, but soon left the game with an ankle injury. Sloukas struck from downtown to make it 55:47. Udoh dunked and Vesely hit 6 free throws to keep the hosts ahead, 63:56, after 30 minutes.

Vesely kept pacing Fenerbahce with a huge alley-oop slam early in the fourth quarter and free throws by Sloukas made it a double-digit game. Vesely got help from Nikola Kalinic and Nunnally to break the game open at 74:59 midway through the fourth quarter. Nothing changed from that moment and Fenerbahce kept full control of the game until the final buzzer.

Both teams play again on Friday – Zalgiris hosts Maccabi Tel Aviv while Fenerbahce visits Galatasaray Istanbul, in what will be their first-ever head-to-head showdown in European competitions.

Comments

  1. Darius

    Seibučiui, jeigu jis nori žaisti klube, vasarą jau reiktų mesti žaidimą rinktinėje. Visai sulėtėjęs, išsekęs atrodo. Jankūnas sėdęs irgi, matyt akumuliatoriai nepakrauti abiems.

  2. Sutinku

    ir keista apskritai kokia role Seibucio komandoje ypac puolime, jis kaip ir Lima net neziuri i krepsio puse, pangosas negali apibegti centru, lekavicius visiskai nemato aikstes, vakar buvo labai daug momentu kai buvo galimybe pickenrola zaisti bet nezaide, bet tris kelinius dar neblogai atrode, paskui tiesiog pritruko jegu, visgi zaide su finalo dalyviu

  3. Darius

    Renaldas Seibutis per 16 minučių Stambule tik kartą metė į krepšį, o per trejas pirmąsias Eurolygos rungtynes pelnė tik du taškus (su „Baskonia“) iš viso per 34 žaidimo minutes (0/3 dvit.). Lietuvos rinktinės nario naudingumo balų vidurkis Eurolygoje kol kas – 0.

    Jei Jankūnas sugeba būti naudingas komandai ir įmesdamas mažiau, tai Seibutis per 3 Eurolygos rungtynes pelnė tik 2 taškus iš viso, o jo naudingumas yra nulinis, per 3 rungtynes nesurinko nei 1 naudingumo balo. Pasidarė Pocius Nr2. Lėtas, pavargęs, sėdęs, į krepšį net akių nepakelia.

  4. Zalifan from Germany

    Fenerbahce: yesterday 3 homeplayers from Turkey, №1 12,06 min, 2 №2 2,34 min, №3 DNP :)