Regular Season Game 6 - November 30, 2006 CET: 20:45 Local time: 20:45 - PALAELDO

Records

Ave.   Ave.
0-0 Final Four 0-0
0-0 Playoffs 0-0
0-0 Top 16 0-0
0-2 Regular Season 0-0
1-4 Overall 1-4

Referees

Crew Chief
ARTEAGA, JUAN CARLOS, Spain
Referee
GARCIA ORTIZ, JOSE RAMON, Spain
Umpire
MAESTRE, NICOLA, France

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
71.0 Points 72.2
33.0 Rebounds 28.8
13.4 O. Rebounds 7.2
19.6 D. Rebounds 21.6
8.6 Assists 9.4
14.8 Steals 9.6
3.0 Blocks 1.4
13.2 Turnovers 14.2
45.4 % 2PT 54.2 %
26.4 % 3PT 33.3 %
73.0 % FT 69.9 %
66.6 Index 66.8

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
16.4 / BROWN, T. Points 13.8 / KAMBALA, K.
8.0 / ROCCA, MASON Rebounds 9.2 / TURKCAN, MIRSAD
4.0 / ROCCA, MASON OR 2.4 / TURKCAN, MIRSAD
3.8 / SESAY, ANSU DR 6.8 / TURKCAN, MIRSAD
3.2 / BROWN, T. Assists 4.3 / SOLOMON, WILLIE
2.4 / BROWN, T. Steals 1.8 / Onan
1.0 / TREPAGNIER, J. Blocks 0.4 / TURKCAN, MIRSAD
3.0 / BROWN, T. Turnovers 4.5 / SOLOMON, WILLIE
82.4 % / CITTADINI, ALESSANDRO 2PT 66.7 % / CLARK, I.
60.0 % / MALAVENTURA,MATTEO 3PT 100.0 % / Erden
100.0 % / MORANDAIS, MICHEL FT 100.0 % / Savas
14.2 / BROWN, T. Index 15.2 / TURKCAN, MIRSAD

THE TAKE

A pair of Euroleague newcomers will meet for the first time when Eldo Napoli hosts Fenerbahce Ulker at the Palaeldo in Naples, Italy on Thursday in what is already a semi-crucial Group C game for both. The teams share 1-4 records and the Group C cellar with Zalgiris Kaunas, so Thursday's winner will take a step up for sure. Napolii was close to a second win last week, as Richard Rocca's last-second layup forced overtime, but coach Piero Bucchi's men couldn't keep the momentum going and fell to Pau-Orthez 84-96. Tierre Brown led Eldo with 18 points and 5 assists, while Rocca added 15 points and 10 rebounds. Fenerbahce failed to cross the 70-point barrier for the third time in five games last week as it went down 84-70 at Winterthur FC Barcelona. The bright spot for Fenerbahce was the play of guard Damir Mrsic, who stepped into the shoes of injured point guard Will Solomon and produced a season-best 21 points. The game will see Napoli swingman Jeff Trepagnier host several teammates from last season's Turkish champion Ulker, among them Mirsad Turkcan, Ibrahim Kutluay and Omer Onan. With Solomon's participation still in doubt, Fenerbahce will need to pick up its defense to have a chance at its first road win. The visitors might get immediate help in that department from newly signed swingman Eddie Basden, who comes with a reputation similar to that of the defensive-minded Trepagnier. Despite boasting the all-time Euroleague rebounding leader in Turkcan, Fenerbahce ranks last this season in that category with 28.8 rebounds per game. That could be an issue against Eldo, the second-best offensive rebounding side with 13.4 per game. Eldo has been the worst three-point shooting side so far this season (26.4%), but there is hope that recent signing Tyrone Ellis, who made 23-of-53 (43.3%) from beyond the arc two seasons ago, will help change that fact. The role of the team's guards will play a major part in the outcome of the game. If Ellis is able to step up and not only score, but take some pressure off of Brown (16.4 ppg., 2.4 spg.) and Trepagnier (12.2 ppg.), Eldo will be in good shape. However if Solomon (11.5 ppg., 4.2 apg.) plays or if Mrsic (9.8 ppg.) is able to match his production, Fenerbahce will have an advantage. Also worth watching will be the battle inside pitting Rocca (8.5 ppg., 8 rpg.) and Alessandro Cittadinin (7 ppg., 6 rpg.) and Kaspars Kambala (13.8 ppg.) and Turkcan (9.2 ppg., 9.2 rpg.). Expect these teams to put everything on the floor for the chance to rejoin the Group C race.
Euroleague.net

Quotes Head Coaches

BUCCHI, PIERO
Eldo Napoli
"We need to start the game with the right approach, even though this isn't the best moment for us. Fenerbahce is a team with great tradition and experience, that's well-covered in each position with players of great quality. We have to play a team-oriented game and get back on track after our recent losses so as to give satisfaction to our fans, who are always behind us. We have to get this win."
ORS, AYDIN
Fenerbahce Ulker
"This is a very crucial game for both teams as each of us are trying to take a better position in the group, trying to rise from the bottom. We felt the absence of Willie Solomon against Winterthur Barcelona so it will be our main problem again if he cannot play against Eldo Napoli. The thing that makes me feel better is the way we played defense in the last domestic league game in Turkey. We will try to be aggressive for whole 40 minutes on defense and try to be patient on offense."

Players

MORENA, DOMENICO
Eldo Napoli
"We have to take this success. Another home loss would reduce our hopes to advance to the Top 16. If we want to reach it, we have to beat Fenerbahce. It won't be easy, since we have the same record, and it will be a crucial game for both of us. We have to use all our skills and potential, playing a tough game with big heart."
MRSIC, DAMIR
Fenerbahce Ulker
"This is a game whose result will be one of the key factors about the destiny of both teams in the group. We are playing much better day by day and we just need a little bit of luck on our side to show that we are a good team. There are no easy games in the Euroleague and our opponent needs to win like we need, too. It’s going to be a very tough game for sure. But we only can take a win there if we play well defensively."
Mirsad Turkcan - Fenerbahce Ulker Fenerbahce Ulker needed overtime and yet another monster rebounding night from Mirsad Turkcan to down Eldo Napoli 78-83 on the road in Naples, Italy in Group C on Thursday. Fenerbahce boosted its record to 2-4 and is sixth in Group C, while Napoli dropped to 1-5. Turkcan scored 11 points and grabbed 21 boards for the winners. He is the only player to grab more than 20 rebounds in a Euroleague Basketball game, and has now done so four times with three different teams - Montepaschi Siena, CSKA Moscow and Fenerbahce. Damir Mrsic was the overtime hero, however, firing in a pair of crucial three-point shots to make sure of the outcome. Kaspars Kambala led the winners with 29 points, making 14 of 14 free throws, while Ibrahim Kutluay added 21 and Mrsic 12. Mason Rocca had 17 points for Napoli while Domenico Morena added 11 for the hosts. The game saw as many as eight lead changed before Valerio Spinelli hit free throws and assisted Rocca for a layup that sent the game to overtime, 67-67. Mrsic hit the go-ahead three-pointer at 72-73, and then buried another one to make it 72-78 and seal the win.

As both teams came out missing injured starters - Ansu Sesay for Napoli and Will Solomon for Fenerbahce - a Kutluay layup opened the game scoring. Simone Flamini soon replied for Napoli, and then Alessandro Cittadini's dunk roused the first cheers from the audience. Many errors from both sides kept the score on 4-4 for the first 5 minutes. Tierre Brown woke up Napoli with a layup before a three-pointer by Jay Larranaga sent Napoli ahead by 9-4. Kutulay and Turkcan answered from the arc, too, and Fenerbahce went ahead 11-12 when Kutluay posted up. A battle of giants in the paint between Kambala and Rocca followed, but Fenerbahce's defense held tough to finish the first quarter with a 13-16 margin.

A triple from Morena opened the second quarter, and soon a free throw by Rocca free throw tied for Napoli, 20-20. The hosts kept rolling behind 5 points by Matteo Malaventura to claim a 25-22 lead. Fenerbahce had problems on offense, and Morena punished one by scoring from the high post. Brown's free throws sent Napoli up 30-23, but Fenerbahce was ready to answer with a bomb by Kutulay and a layup by Kambala. The quarter neared the end as Napoli found a fastbreak basket by Michel Morandais plus a triple and free throws by Rocca. Fenerbahce used Kambala's inside points to close gap to 37-32 at halftime.

Kambala opened the third period with a basket and free throws to which Mrsic soon added his own shot to seize a new lead for Fenerbahce, 37-39. It didn't last, however, as Cittadini and Flamini combined on 4 quick points. Almost 2 minutes followed without a single ball in the basket, until Flamini buried a triple. Fenerbahce soon answered with Kambala and Kutulay hitting free throws to forge another tie, 46-46. It was all Cittadini then, as the Napoli big man shot from the high post and added a free throw to give his team a 49-46 edge after 35 minutes.

Richard Rocca - Eldo NapoliIn the fourth quarter, Morena again scored the first points, but Turkcan answered quickly with free throws. Valerio Spinelli found his first basket on a layup to make it 53-47. After Morena and Larranaga missed three-pointers for Napoli, Kutulay tried one and was sent to the free throw line, making all three for a 53-51 score. Kutluay went back to the line, as did Turkcan, whose pair of free throws tied it up again, 55-55. It was point-to point the rest of the way. Malaventura brought Napoli in front with a jump shot, while Kambala got those points back and Mrsic bombed Fenerbahce into the lead. The visitors saw victory near as Kambala scored twice again, but Morena found a triple to keep Napoli within 60-64 with 2 minutes left. Spinelli took over for the hosts with a layup and free throws to make it 65-66. Rocca finally equalled the game at 67-67 with a layup while each team missed subsequent opportunities, sending the decision into overtime.

Rocca's layup gave Napoli the early edge in OT, but Kambala matched him before Turkan made good on a pair of technical free throws as Morena followed Cittadini to the Napoli bench with 5 fouls each. The lack of centers made it very hard on Napoli, but soon Kambala was out of fouls, too. Spinelli put the hosts ahead from the free throws line, but Mrsic came up with a big triple to bring Fenerbahce ahead again, 72-74, with less than 2 minutes left. Napoli's defense worked but Fenerbahce still took a pair of offensive rebounds, the second of which Ogus Savas put back. Then Mrsic sentenced the outcome with another triple, giving Fenerbahce a valuable Group C road victory.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Francesco Tedesco, Naples
Referees: ARTEAGA, JUAN CARLOS (ESP), GARCIA ORTIZ, JOSE RAMON (ESP), MAESTRE, NICOLA (FRA)
Attendance: 3180
By Quarter1234Extra 1
Eldo Napoli1324121811
Fenerbahce Ulker1616142116
End of Quarter1234Extra 1
Eldo Napoli1337496778
Fenerbahce Ulker1632466783
Head coach: BUCCHI, PIERO
Eldo Napoli
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
3FG
M-A
FT
M-A
Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
5 CITTADINI, ALESSANDRO 21:00 8 2/5 1/1 1/2   3 3   2   1 1 5 1 5
7 MORENA, DOMENICO 27:00 11 2/2 2/4 1/2 1 4 5   2 1     5 1 10
9 SPINELLI, VALERIO 20:00 9 3/5 0/2 3/5   1 1 5 5 2   1   9 20
12 ROCCA, MASON 24:00 17 5/8   7/10 2 1 3   2 3 1 1 2 7 18
13 BROWN, TIERRE 21:00 4 1/6   2/2 2 2 4 1         1 2 5
14 FLAMINI, SIMONE 19:00 6 3/5 0/1   1 1 2   3         2 10
16 MALAVENTURA, MATTEO 27:00 9 3/6 1/3     4 4 1 1 1     3 1 7
20 TREPAGNIER, JEFF DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
24 LARRANAGA, JAY 24:00 7 1/1 1/6 2/2   4 4           4 1 3
25 ELLIS, TYRONE 16:00 2 1/2 0/3     4 4 3 2 3     3   1
30 MORANDAIS, MICHEL 26:00 5 1/3 1/6   1 3 4     2     5   -5
Team                   3 3          
Totals 225:00 78 22/43 6/26 16/23 7 27 34 10 20 15 2 3 28 24 74
51.2% 23.1% 69.6%
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Head coach: ORS, AYDIN
Fenerbahce Ulker
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
3FG
M-A
FT
M-A
Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
4 DEMIREL, HAKAN 9:00 2 1/1               2     1   -1
5 BASDEN, EDDIE 5:00 4 2/4     1   1   1 1   1 3   -1
6 TURKCAN, MIRSAD 39:00 11 1/2 1/4 6/7 5 16 21 1 4 2 1 1 1 6 35
7 ONAN, OMER 40:00   0/2 0/3     3 3           5 1 -6
8 BASAK, RASIM DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9 ERDEN, SEMIH DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
10 KUTLUAY, IBRAHIM 40:00 21 3/6 2/7 9/11   1 1 1 1 4     3 9 16
11 SAVAS, OGUZ 15:00 2 1/4     2 2 4     1 1   1 2 4
12 MRSIC, DAMIR 41:00 12 1/1 3/11 1/1 1   1 2 1 4     2 2 4
13 CLARK, IRA 6:00 2 1/2     1 4 5     1 1   3   3
14 MUTAF, CAN MAXIM DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
15 KAMBALA, KASPARS 30:00 29 6/12 1/1 14/14   6 6     4     5 8 28
Team             4 4   7 1         10
Totals 225:00 83 16/34 7/26 30/33 10 36 46 4 14 20 3 2 24 28 92
47.1% 26.9% 90.9%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

BUCCHI, PIERO
Eldo Napoli
"We are sorry for the fans. It's a shame because we had that last shot the fourt period to win, but we failed it and in the overtime we werent cool enough to win. We paid the absence of Sesay in the paint. It's a difficoult moment for us, we have to talk each other to find the way out from this situation."
ORS, AYDIN
Fenerbahce Ulker
"It was a difficult game for both teams but in the end was a very important victory for us. We had four matches on the road in this first part of the Euroleague round and this success gives us an important advantage in the race for the Top 16. In the first part of the game we didn't play well, but we never quit, playing head to head. In the second part we played a better defense a found easy baskets with Kambala. Napoli could have won, too but in the overtime we grabbed this victory and now have good chances to go for the Top 16."

Players

MORENA, DOMENICO
Eldo Napoli
"We tried to win until the last second but we weren't able to gain the two points in the overtime just as happened a week ago against Pau-Orthez. The road is still long and we still hope to reach the next round. I tried to give my best tonight, but I would rather play really bad and win than playing well and lose."
KUTLUAY, IBRAHIM
Fenerbahce Ulker
"This was a game we should have won. We lost the game at home before so we needed to win this one to compesate that loss. We needed the victory to end our bad luck, it was a very nice victory. In the second half we played very well, we struggled a lot and we won."
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