Spars battle past Fenerbahce in Group B opener

U18 Spars Sarajevo started Group B play at the Adidas Next Generation Tournament Belgrade with a 72-73 victory over U18 Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. Djordje Topolovic collected 29 points and 12 rebounds for a performance index rating of 35 as well as the game-winning basket with 59 seconds to play for Spars while Deni Radak added 14 points and 7 rebounds. Fenerbahce lost despite Ismail Karabilen picking up 21 points, 21 rebounds and 10 fouls received for a PIR of 41. Ekrem Sancakli added 20 points in the loss and David Mutaf had 11 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

Spars jumped ahead 0-7 as Fenerbahce did not score in the first 3 minutes. The lead was 1-9 and still 5-12 before Sancakli hit 5 points in an 11-1 Fenebahce run to lead 16-13. The advantage was 21-17 after an Emre Eksioglu three-point play and the Turkish side was up 23-22 after 10 minutes. Spars held Fenerbahce to just one basket in the first 5 minutes of the second quarter and Topolovic and Micic both had 4 points in a 2-12 Spars run to go up 25-34. Fenerbahce kept Spars scoreless for the next 4 minutes but could only pull within 30-34 and the Spars advantage was 34-38 at intermission. Spars opened the second half with the first four points for an 8-point lead which Fenerbahce countered with a 13-4 spurt to pull ahead 47-46. Four lead changes followed with Yigit Onan’s three-pointer giving Fenerbahce a 56-50 cushion, which was 56-52 after three quarters. Topolovic scored 7 points as Spars had the better start to the fourth quarter and led 60-63. Sancakli answered with a three-pointer to even the game, which remained tight with Karabilen hitting a free throw on an unsportsmanlike foul to put Fenerbahce up 72-71 with 77 seconds left. Mutaf missed a three-pointer on the ensuing possession and then Topolovic scored a layup to make it 72-73. Ege Ulker missed a jumper and then after a Spars turnover, Sancakli’s three-pointer was off-target and Spars got the win.