After 21 points' night on Tuesday, Nando De Colo was splendid one more time this season.
| Player of the Game | |
|
EFF
26
|
| Nando De Colo | |
| Points | 17 |
| Accuracy | 7-15 |
| Rebounds | 1 |
| Assists | 7 |
He helped Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (7-9) to overcome Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (5-11) 75-53 (19-14, 24-14, 12-15, 20-10) and gift the fans fourth consecutive Turkish EuroLeague victory.
Fenerbahce came out strong from the first seconds, arranging a 15-2 run. Pierria Henry and Melih Mahmutoglu fired up the stands by hitting 3 three-pointers in a row, while Devin Booker was dominating in the paint.
Even though Baskonia cut their double-digit deficit to 5 points (14-19) at the end of the first quarter, Fener pushed the gas pedal in the second for one more time. Nando De Colo was brilliant, closing the first half with 10 straight points and creating a solid 15-point advantage (43-28).
The third period went neck to neck, though, Wade Baldwin's ferocious poster on Achille Polonara ended the quarter better for the Basques (43-55).
Nevertheless, Sasa Djorjevic's men maintained their double-digit lead in the decisive 10 minutes of the match, never letting Baskonia think about the win.
For the winners, Nando De Colo guided the path, accumulating 17 points (5/9 2PT, 2/6 3PT, 1/1 FT), 1 rebound, 7 assists, career-high 6 steals, 1 turnover, 5 drawn fouls, and 26 PIR.
"It’s a great feeling because, as I’ve already said, we are working hard every day to come back where we should be from the beginning. It takes time, but we are here and tonight is another great win. I think we did a great job tonight to be together defensively. We never gave up on any play and this gave us a lot of confidence on offense," told De Colo after convincing W.
His co-partner Jan Vesely added 13 points (5/8 2PT, 0/1 3PT, 3/4 FT), 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 turnover, 2 blocks, 4 drawn fouls, and 20 PIR.
Steven Enoch was the most effective player for Baskonia, registering 14 points (3/3 2PT, 2/2 3PT, 2/2 FT), 8 rebounds, 4 turnovers, 2 drawn fouls, and 16 PIR.
"I give credit to Fenerbahce’s defense, but also, on the other side, we didn’t do anything offensively. We have to play better offense if we want to compete in the EuroLeague. I think Fener played way better basketball, but we didn’t even show up," said Neven Spahija post-game.
Fenerbahce: Nando De Colo 17 (7 AST, 6 STL), Achille Polonara 15, Jan Vesely 13 (5 REB), Devin Booker 8 (5 REB).
Baskonia: Steven Enoch 14 (8 REB), Tadas Sedekerskis 8 (3 REB), Jayson Granger 8 (5 REB, 3 AST).
Highlights
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