Fenerbahce Ulker beat Bennet Cantu 85-83 in overtime for a third straight win – Euroleague Recap
Fenerbahce Ulker survived an overtime thriller to secure their third consecutive victory in Turkish Airlines Euroleague regular season Group A, by beating Bennet Cantu 85-83 in the latest classic showdown in Istanbul, Turkey.
Both of the Euroleague powerhouses are now tied at 3-2 in the upper half of their group.
“I want to congratulate our team and also our fans,” Ulker Head Coach Neven Spahija said. “We won our third game. The team played better with its heart.”
Ulker had six of their players in double figures on the night. Omer Onan remained the top scorer of the show with 18 points on 5 for 9 shooting from two-point range and a perfect 5 for 5 from free throw line. Thabo Sefolosha was
another prominent player with 14 points, seven rebounds and two steals while Oguz Savas punctuated 13 points in the victory. Bojan Bogdanovic and Roko Ukic added 12 points each while Gasper Vidmar gathered 10 points, six rebounds and two steals for Ulker.
Gianluca Basile and Nicolas Mazzarino led Bennet with 12 points each. Basile also grabbed four rebounds and ended on a 6 for 6 shooting from free throw line. Maarten Leunen and Denis Marconato chipped in with 11 points apiece in
a loss, which snapped their two-game winning streak.
Marconato and Leunen dominated early in the first quarter of the game - it all seemed so easy for them- as Cantu held a 19-13 lead with one minute to go in the quarter. Onan and Bogdanovic however went to the free throw line one
after another to cut the margin to just two after 10 minutes of action.
In a tightly contested second period, the score was tied at 32 with two minutes to go in the first half. Maarten Leunen netted a three at that point to put Cantu ahead by three, 35-32, at halftime.
Fenerbahce were unable to stand up to a Bennet early in the third quarter and their deficit swelled to 42-36. However, Ulker brought the home crowd to its feet with a 10-0 run and went ahead by 46-42. Bennet once again responded
aggressively and held 52-49 lead before Ulker Istanbul closed the period on a 7-0 charge for a 56-52 lead after three.
With 20 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, and down by three, Bennet in-bounded the ball and Nicolas Mazzarino hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 73, sending it into overtime.
Fenerbahce played hard defense in O.T. ensuring a lead 82-77 with one minute left. Markoishvili answered with a shot from downtown to cut the deficit to two, 82-80. Roko Ukic hit 3 consecutive free throws to put the game to bed
and a Gianluca Basile three in the dying seconds proved to be a mere consolation.
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