Fenerbahce Ulker stun Bizkaia Bilbao Basket 73-70 - Euroleague Recap
After disappointing first two weeks of the 2011 Turkish Airlines Euroleague, Fenerbahce Ulker has slowly picked up the momentum.
The Turkish franchise claimed its second consecutive win of the tournament by downing Bizkaia Bilbao Basket 73-70 in a thrilling game played at Bilbao Arena and with that kept its chances of reaching top 16 alive.
On the other hand, Bizkaia have now lost three consecutive games and need to win all their remaining games to qualify for the next round.
Bizkaia were in the driving seat until the 35th minute of the game, leading by 67-59, however an outstanding 14 point run in the last 5 minutes by visitors turned the game upside down and left the hosts completely stunned.
Bojan Bogdanovic marshalled the winning team with 19 points on a 5 for 8 shooting from the paint and 3 for 3 from throw line. Curtis Jerrells, who contributed 5 points in the crucial 14-0 run, was the second highest scorer for
the Turks. He ended with 15 points, 2 rebounds and 3 steals. James Gist also put up an all round performance scoring 10 points and forcing 5 rebounds.
Marko Banic, the scoring machine from Bizkaia, was again the top scorer finishing with 17 points including 7 for 10 from the field. Kostas Vasiliadis supported him well and added another 15 on a perfect 6 for 6 from the free throw
line; however their combined brilliance proved futile in the end.
Fenerbahce drew first blood courtesy of a Thabo Sefolosha three-pointer. Another downtown shot by Gist in the preceding minute took Fenerbahce 4 points ahead of Bizkaia inside first 3 minutes. However, the next few minute belonged
to Bizkaia as they not only managed to hold Ulker from scoring but got ahead by 5 points 16-11. Momentum however shifted again as Fenerbahce scored in quick succession and carved out a 15-5 run to finish the quarter with a lead of 26-21.
Two consecutive shots by Marko followed by a three-pointer by Kostas at the start of second quarter helped Bizkaia in slashing the deficit they got back at 28 all nearly midway through the frame. After 5 minutes, both teams were
again neck to neck at 32 all; however two consecutive shots by Marko got Bizkaia ahead by 36-32.
Both teams failed to find basket in the last three minutes of quarter and by the end of first half, Bizkaia were still leading 36-32.
A three-pointer at the start of third quarter by Emir Preldzic helped Fenerbahce in reducing the deficit. They then got ahead (50-49) for the first time in quarter through a three-pointer by Jerrells.
However Bilbao never let them pull away and the scores were level at 51 all with less than a minute remaining in the quarter. This was followed by a 7-2 run by Bilbao was they went into the last 10 minutes comfortably placed at
58-53.
Lopez Raul’s three-pointer at the start of final quarter took Bizkaia further ahead but Fenerbahce pulled things back. By the 35th minute, Bizkaia were leading by 67-59, but a stunning 14 point run by Fenerbahce shattered
Bizkaia’s dream and left all the players in disbelief.
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