2015-16Final FourSEMIFINAL A
Fenerbahce Istanbul 88
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria Gasteiz 77
May 13, 2016 CET: 21:00
Local time: 21:00 MERCEDES-BENZ ARENA

Bogdanovic’s late heroics put Fenerbahce in final

For the first time in club history, Fenerbahce Istanbul will play for the Euroleague crown. Fenerbahce outlasted Laboral Kutxa Vitoria Gasteiz 88-77 after overtime in a dramatic semifinal at the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four at Mercedes-Benz Arena in the German capital. Bogdan Bogdanovic led five Fenerbahce scorers in double figures with 18 points, half of which came in the extra period to decide the game. Fenerbahce will face CSKA Moscow in Sunday’s Euroleague Championship Game. Fenerbahce stormed out of the gate, scoring the first 13 points of the game, but Laboral answered with a 2-13 run and got right back in it. Fenerbahce pulled away twice more in the first half with help from Bogdanovic and Ekpe Udoh, but Ioannis Bourousis scored 11 points to get Laboral to 25-22, and Darius Adams scored 8 points in a 4-11 run that cut it to 41-40 at halftime. After the break, the teams traded blows until Bourousis got it going again, hitting one triple at the end of third, and one early in the fourth, giving Laboral Kutxa a 7-point advantage. However, Jan Vesely brought Fenerbahce back, and Kostas Sloukas tied it in the final minute. In overtime, Bogdanovic took control and booked his team’s ticket to the final. Luigi Datome added 15 points and 7 rebounds for the winners, while Udoh played a big role with 14 points and 4 blocks, Vesely also scored 14 and Sloukas tallied 13 points and 7 assists. Bourousis scored 22 and collected 10 rebounds to pace Laboral, which will finish its Euroleague campaign against Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar in Sunday’s Third-Place Game. Adams recorded 19 points and 7 assists, Kim Tillie scored 13 and Adam Hanga 10 in defeat.

First quarter: Fenerbahce starts strong, Laboral answers

Udoh opened the scoring with a mid-range jumper, and Datome hit a three-pointer from the right corner. Fenerbahce made a pair of defensive stands, and on its third possession, Udoh added another jumper. A corner three, from the left side by Pero Antic after exactly two minutes of play made it 10-0, and forced a Laboral timeout. A three-pointer from Bobby Dixon extended the margin to 13 points before Hanga drove the baseline for a dunk to open Laboral's account. Tillie added a short jumper. After Datome hit a tough jumper, Bourousis and Tilie scored inside on back-to-back possessions to cut it to 15-8. A steal from Hanga led to a fastbreak dunk from Tillie, and now it was Fenerbahce head coach Zeljko Obradovic calling a timeout. A transition three-pointer from Adams made it 15-13, but Bogdanovic answered with a three-pointer to snap a 0-9 run. Ricky Hickman's driving layup extended the margin, and after Jaka Blazic scored inside, Sloukas and Vesely connected on an alley-oop dunk that gave Fenerbahce a 23-15 lead.

Second quarter: Bourousis and Adams bring Laboral back

Bourousis opened the quarter with a three-pointer. Sloukas had a driving layup, but Bouruosis scored from close range and then added to his account with a tough off-balance corner jumper to get his team within 3. Antic threw an alley-oop pass for a monster Vesely one-handed slam, but Bourousis, who returned after briefly exiting the game, answered with his ninth consecutive point for Laboral. Another basket from Vesely, this time a layup after a dish from Bogdanovic, made it 30-24. Tillie and Bogdanovic traded three-point plays, before Adams hooked up with James in transition for an big alley-oop dunk, 35-29. Udoh made a bucket in a crowd, drawing a third personal from Bourousis, but Adams bettered it with triple. After free throws from Sloukas, Adams nailed another triple that cut the deficit to 39-35. Udoh was once again successful inside, but Adams assisted Blazic for a reverse layup-plus. Laboral made another defensive stop, while Adams continued running the show on the other end, driving for a layup and making it a 1-point game, 41-40 at halftime.

Third quarter: After five lead changes, game is tight

A fastbreak layup by Hanga gave Laboral its first lead of the game, but Antic answered with a wide-open triple for Fenerbahce to regain the lead right away. Antic added fouls shots, but Hanga nailed a three-pointer to make it 46-45. After Bogdanovic knocked down a pair of foul shots, Tillie hit a circus-shot jumper to bring Laboral with a single point. Datome nailed a fadeaway jumper, but James made a baseline shot to cut to 50-49. Neither team scored for almost two minutes before Adams drained a triple to put Laboral ahead again, and his reverse layup, after a drive past Vesely, put Laboral up 50-54. However, after a Fenerbahce timeout Vesely scored from close range and Datome from long range to give Fenerbahce a 55-54 edge, prompting a Laboral timeout. But, it was Bourousis who had the last say in the quarter, banking in a triple in the final seconds to put Laboral in front 55-57.

Fourth quarter: Fenerbahce rallies, Sloukas sends it to overtime

Bourousis scored inside to open the quarter, then followed with a three that gave Laboral a 55-62 lead. Udoh made a short a baseline jumper to snap a 0-8 run and then added a pair of free throws. Bourousis was unstoppable, driving to the basket for a layup, and James made a step-back jumper, giving Laboral a 59-66 advantage. But it was time for Vesely to make his presence felt, stringing together 6 points, including a tough turnaround baseline jumper and a pair of close-range baskets as he brought Fenerbahce within 65-66 with 4:51 to go. After a Laboral timeout, Adams drove for a layup high off the glass as defenses stepped up on both ends of the floor, and basket were few and far between. Tillie made a pair of foul shots, and Sloukas drove the lane for a layup to end Fenerbahce’s scoring drought of almost three minutes. Bourousis split free throws to make it a 4-point game, and that was the margin Laboral had entering the final 60 seconds. Datome hits a big three, and after split free throws from Adams, Sloukas drove for a layup to tie it at 72-72 with 25.7 seconds to go in regulation. After a Laboral timeout, Adams took the ball into his hands, but his three-point attempt rimmed out. Fenerbahce had 0.6 seconds for a final possession, but Dixon’s attempt was far off as the game went into overtime.

Overtime: Bogdanovic takes charge for Fenerbahce

Bogdanovic opened the extra session with a triple. Hanga countered with a driving layup, but Bogdanovic made a pair of free throws and Udoh scored inside to open a 79-74 lead. Bourousis missed 2 foul shots, before Bogdanovic banked in a runner and Sloukas hit couple free throws to make it 83-74. Davis Bertans made a put-back, but Laboral could not produce more offense. Bogdanovic’s put-back restored a 9-point margin with 67 second on the clock and a corner triple from Sloukas sealed the outcome.

Bogdan Bogdanovic - Fenerbahce Istanbul - Final Four Berlin 2016 - EB15
Monday, May 23, 2016
Euroleague.net
Referees: CHRISTODOULOU, CHRISTOS; RYZHYK, BORYS; LATISEVS, OLEGS
Attendance: 11216
By Quarter1234Extra 1
Fenerbahce Istanbul2318141716
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria Gasteiz152517155
End of Quarter1234Extra 1
Fenerbahce Istanbul2341557288
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria Gasteiz1540577277
Fenerbahce Istanbul
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
3 HICKMAN, RICKY 7:09 3 1/1   1/2   1 1     1     1 1 2
5 HERSEK, BARIS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8 UDOH, EKPE 31:57 14 6/8   2/3 2   2 1 2   4   5 2 17
10 MAHMUTOGLU, MELIH DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12 ANTIC, PERO 28:09 8 0/3 2/6 2/2 1 6 7 2 1     1 3 5 12
13 BOGDANOVIC, BOGDAN 35:23 18 3/6 2/7 6/7 1 5 6 3 1 3     2 4 18
16 SLOUKAS, KOSTAS 27:00 13 3/4 1/4 4/4   5 5 7   2     2 3 20
23 UGURLU, BERK DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
24 VESELY, JAN 21:13 14 7/8   0/4   3 3 1     1   1 2 15
33 KALINIC, NIKOLA 11:20   0/1     1 1 2 1         2 3 3
35 MUHAMMED, ALI 28:59 3 0/1 1/6   2 3 5 4 1 4     2 2 3
70 DATOME, LUIGI 33:50 15 2/3 3/6 2/2 2 5 7 2   2     4 2 16
Team           3 1 4     2         2
Totals 225:00 88 22/35 9/29 17/24 12 30 42 21 5 14 5 1 22 24 108
        62.9% 31% 70.8%
Head coach: OBRADOVIC, ZELJKO
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
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria Gasteiz
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
3 JAMES, MIKE 31:15 6 3/9 0/2   1 1 2 5 1     1 4 1 2
4 DIOP, MAMADOU DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
5 CAUSEUR, FABIEN 3:13     0/1                   1   -2
6 PLANINIC, DARKO 9:31         1 1 2     2     3   -3
8 HANGA, ADAM 41:47 10 3/4 1/3 1/2 1 4 5   1 3   1 2 4 10
9 BOUROUSIS, IOANNIS 33:19 22 6/9 3/5 1/4 1 9 10 2 1 2   2 4 5 24
11 BLAZIC, JAKA 14:32 5 2/3 0/2 1/1 1 1 2 1 1 1   1 2 2 4
12 DIOP, ILIMANE 1:15   0/1                     1   -2
14 TILLIE, KIM 29:34 13 5/5 0/1 3/3 1 2 3   3   1   2 2 19
20 ADAMS, DARIUS 36:14 19 3/4 4/13 1/2   2 2 7   3     2 6 18
33 CORBACHO, ALBERTO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
42 BERTANS, DAVIS 24:20 2 1/2 0/3   1 1 2 1 1 1     3 2  
Team           2 1 3               3
Totals 225:00 77 23/37 8/30 7/12 9 22 31 16 8 12 1 5 24 22 73
        62.2% 26.7% 58.3%
Head coach: PERASOVIC, VELIMIR

Head Coaches

OBRADOVIC, ZELJKO
Fenerbahce Istanbul
"I really would like to congratulate Laboral for an excellent game. They played together and one more time they showed that they are a very good team. Except for the first few minutes they played good basketball. We didn’t prepare ourselves to shoot the ball. We didn’t move the ball. We didn’t play our game. We did find a way in the final minutes and had good defense in the end to save our life and get to overtime. Overtime was a different story because some of my players who slept in the second half woke up. We have a lot of players with experience in my team. Thank you to my players for everything they did and also to our people. They know they are a very important part of what we do and it’s very important for this club that we reached the final. We are a small United Nations at Fenerbahce. We wrote ‘One more game’ on the wall in all the languages of the team. But we want to do something else. The final game is the final game… [Bogdanovic] slept. He finally woke up. But this is him. He has amazing character. I trust him, the team trusts him. But he must know that the game is 40 minutes - or as today, 45 minutes."
PERASOVIC, VELIMIR
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria Gasteiz
"Congratulations to Fenerbahce. They deserved this win. We played a serious game until the last five minutes of overtime. The last minutes we had some bad decisions on offense. Many times we would have won a game like today. All season [the fans] were incredible. They always stay with the team. They always support us."

Players

SLOUKAS, KOSTAS
Fenerbahce Istanbul
"It was a very difficult game. We said that Laboral is a very good team and play very hard. We were a little bit nervous for 35 minutes of the game but the last two or three defenses we played very well and we managed to go to overtime. And we felt good in overtime, Bogdan scored 9 points and we had quality on and off the court. We are very happy that we managed to reach the final for the first time for this club and for Turkish basketball. It means a lot."
BOGDANOVIC, BOGDAN
Fenerbahce Istanbul
"It was incredible. Starting with me, we missed a lot of three-point shots. On the other hand, they hit amazing shots, off the glass, in the last seconds. But, in the end of regulation, we were lucky enough to force overtime. The rest is history. I don't think we were scared, but it would have been a pity if our great Euroleague season ended here. It was tough that we opened with 13-0, then they come right back and suddenly it is a tight game where every ball matters. Our fans helped. I personally never lost confidence, I believe in my shot, and the one that we needed most went in."
KALINIC, NIKOLA
Fenerbahce Istanbul
"In one moment we were in a critical situation, down 7 points in the fourth quarter. But we are all here on this team for one goal. All we do this season, all we practice is about winning the Euroleague title this season. For us, and for Fenerbahce. We all gave our all, we had to play five minutes more than we wanted, but a win is a win."
VESELY, JAN
Fenerbahce Istanbul
"It was tough. In certain moments we did not follow the game plan we prepared, but we stayed close and fought until the end. We did not play good in the second, third and even fourth quarter, but we managed to get the game into the overtime. In overtime, we were focused; I don't think we made a mistake. It's my first Final Four win, I still don't believe we are in the final. I think it will hit me in the next couple of hours. We are all very happy, but now, we don't want to stop. We will fight on Sunday with all we got. This is already a huge success, but there is one game left to play."
ANTIC, PERO
Fenerbahce Istanbul
"They played basketball that they play whole season. Aggressive on offense, they made some great, tough shots. That gave them confidence. We opened the game well, but then relaxed. But our entire team played its part. Kalinic played fantastic on defense, even though he did not play much despite being in good form. That’s how it needs to be done, each player that comes in does his job."
UDOH, EKPE
Fenerbahce Istanbul
"We stayed with it. Sloukas had a lot of good plays down the stretch. And we made stops. But you got to salute this Laboral team, they had a heck of a year. Hats off to them."
JAMES, MIKE
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria Gasteiz
"I think we played well. We should have closed it out in the fourth quarter, but missed some free throws and had some bad defenses. I think once we got to overtime, we got a bit discouraged and they took advantage of it. They are a good team, but we had a good chance to win. We should have won in regulation, but didn't close it out. We needed a last stop and didn't get it to win the game. It has been a great season. It is hard to talk about it now because we blew it, but overall, it has been a great season; we played great all year."
HANGA, ADAM
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria Gasteiz
"I don't think we lost because of Adams's shot; we had the game before. We were up by almost 10 points and just needed a couple of good defenses. We made some stupid mistakes in the end and we went to overtime. We didn't have the energy or the experience to win the game. I don't care who we played against or how big the club was; we lost the game and our goal was to win the title. We couldn't win the game, but I am really proud of my team because we played amazing throughout the whole season. We couldn't achieve the next goal, making it to the final. Of course, it is really hard now because I also didn't play well, for sure. I hope I will have some more chances to be in a Final Four and win the title."
BERTANS, DAVIS
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria Gasteiz
"Darius got a good shot in the final second and if goes in, we win. I think we should have done a better job on defense until then to not even be in that position. We were 4 points up and still had one foul to give. We didn't use the foul and Sloukas had a pretty easy layup, and that was it. I am proud of my team, we had a great season. The big wins we had this season proves that it doesn't matter how big the budget of a club is to play at a good level. Every guy here gave everything they had tonight."
BOUROUSIS, IOANNIS
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria Gasteiz
"First of all, I am happy because we tried hard against a big team like Fenerbahce. Before the game, there was a lot of people who thought we were going to lose by 20. I heard this, really. My teammates and the team tried really hard to go to the final. In the end, we are not in the final because this is basketball, this is life, but on the other hand, I am happy because we tried hard. We had a great season, but if you think about this game in one months, two months, you will think the same - that you had an opportunity to go to the final and didn't make it. We really had it in our hands. We didn't lose by 20 points all game long and lost. We lost in the last shot to go to the final. It is tough."
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