Fenerbahce claims derby win over Efes

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul maintained its perfect start by gaining a hard-fought 71-80 derby win at Anadolu Efes Istanbul, which remains looking for its first victory. Efes had a 9-point lead in the first half, but Fenerbahce battled hard to go ahead before halftime. The home team regularly threatened throughout the second, half but Fenerbahce stayed strong to claim a huge road win. Nando De Colo led the way with 20 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Lorenzo Brown added 17 points, Jan Vesely had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds and Edgaras Ulanovas scored 10 points. Krunoslav Simon starred for Efes with 24 points and 5 assists, but Rodrigue Beaubois (11 points) was the only other player to score in double figures for the home team.

Ulanovas started red-hot with a pair of triples from his team’s first two possessions. Adrian Moerman opened Efes’s account from deep, but Fenerbahce went inside to stay ahead through Brown and Ahmet Duverioglu. Simon then took over with four consecutive scores, including a three-pointer for Efes’s first lead at 12-10. Moerman completed a 12-0 run from mid-range before Melih Mahmutoglu stopped the rot with a floater. A three-point play from Brown made it closer and it was 23-16 after the first quarter. Ulanovas also opened the second quarter scoring before Mahmutoglu sank a deep three and De Colo hit a long two to tie the game, 23-23. Johnathan Hamilton threw down two dunks as Fenerbahce moved ahead, but Tibor Pleiss also scored twice to keep it close and James Anderson struck from deep for a 32-32 tie. Vasilije Micic’s triple changed the lead again, but Vesely and Brown put Fenerbahce back on top. A pair of threes from De Colo ended the first half at 35-42 with a 0-10 run.

Duverioglu started the second half with a put-back slam, but Simon answered from the corner before a low-scoring passage of play. De Colo’s off-balance layup protected Fener’s lead. Then 5 straight points from Beaubois brought Efes closer. Simon made another triple and Beaubois’s foul shots briefly changed the lead, 51-50, on a 10-0 run. But Jarell Eddie snapped that with a three-pointer and Ali Muhammed’s pull-up three made it 51-56. Brown joined the three-point party and following free throws it was 54-61 after three quarters. Anderson started the fourth quarter by scoring from long-range and Simon added another to make it a 1-point game. Brown’s corner three kept Fenerbahce ahead before Moerman and De Colo traded baskets. Vesely’s open dunk and De Colo’s steal and layup made it 64-74 inside the last 3 minutes and there was no way back for Efes.

Simon’s 4 perfect minutes

With Shane Larkin out through injury, Krunoslav Simon took over as Efes’s key man – especially during a red-hot run in the first quarter when he scored 10 points, dished an assist, grabbed a rebound, made a steal, drew a foul and blocked a shot by Jan Vesely… all in the space of 4 minutes!

Turnovers make Fener’s life complicated

In the face of Efes’s intense defense, Fenerbahce was troubled by turnover problems throughout the game. The visiting team committed 6 in the first quarter alone and maintained a similar pace throughout to finish with 21 turnovers. Lorenzo Brown was the biggest offender with 6.

Rebounding record for Fener

Those turnover woes were outweighed by Fenerbahce totally dominating the rebounding battle, claiming 48 boards compared to just 24 from Efes. Vesely led the way with 10 rebounds, followed by 9 from Dyshawn Pierre, but it was a team effort with 8 different players claiming at least 2 boards.

Long-range accuracy makes a difference

Excellent long-range shooting also propelled Fenerbahce to victory. Six different players made three-pointers in a total of 9 from 17 attempts (52.9%). Efes, on the other hand, only made 9 of 28 attempts (32.1%), with 4 of those coming from Simon.

Next round

Efes travels to Germany to face ALBA Berlin on Tuesday for Round 3, while Fenerbahce hosts a big showdown with CSKA Moscow on Wednesday.