Fenerbahce Madrid headed to Berlin after sweeping the champs
There will be a new Turkish Airlines Euroleague champion after Fenerbahce Istanbul completed a three-game sweep of Real Madrid with a 63-75 victory at Barclaycard Center on Tuesday. Fenerbahce heads to Berlin for its second straight Final Four appearance, while sending the champs home. Madrid will miss the Final Four after making three straight championship game appearances. Bogdan Bogdanovic scored all of his 17 points in the second half to pace the winners, while Ekpe Udoh posted 15 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. Madrid trailed by 3 at halftime before jumping ahead early in the third quarter. However Bogdanovic scored 8 in a 0-14 charge and Coach Zlejko Obradovic’s men never trailed again. The lead grew to 17 in the fourth quarter. A pair of Sergio Llull triples gave the home team hope, but Luigi Datome’s chasedown block of Jaycee Carroll killed the momentum and Fenerbahce coasted to the victory. Bobby Dixon added 14 points, Datome scored 13 and Nikola Kalinic posted 11 points and 8 rebounds for the winners. Sergio Rodriguez led Madrid with 15 points and Gustavo Ayon tallied 14 points and 14 rebounds in defeat.
First quarter: Dixon fuels visitors’ 0-8 run
Madrid got the start it wanted as Carroll drained a three from the corner, but a minute later Dixon evened the score with a shot from downtown. However both teams went cold for several minutes. Felipe Reyes sank free throws and then put back a missed Carrol jumper as the hosts went ahead 7-3. Udoh got on the scoreboard with a jumper and foul, but Ayon went through Udoh for a layup. Kalinic’s basket-plus-foul in transition made it 9-7 at the TV timeout. Pero Antic tied it at with a fadeaway jumper and Dixon gave Fenerbahce its first lead, 9-11, with a floater in the lane. Dixon added free throws to cap a 0-8 Fenerbahce run. K.C. Rivers’s hustle set up a second-chance score for Ayon. Udoh hit a mid-range jumper and Andres Nocioni countered with a drive for a layup. Kalinic drilled a triple to make it 13-18 after 10 minutes.
Second quarter: Rodriguez brings Madrid back
Kalninic added to the Fenerbahce lead, but despite some nifty passing at both ends, that would be the only basket for the first three minutes of the quarter. Sergio Llull drove into the Fenerbahce defense for a finger roll to end the drought. After Udoh scored over Ayon, the Madrid center countered with a layup. Datome and Nocioni traded shots before Rodriguez’s terrific bounce pass to Nocioni in transition closed the gap to 21-24 midway through the quarter. A pair of steals for Madrid led to Rodriguez baskets and a 25-24 edge. Udoh free throws gave the visitors the lead and Antic added 2 more. After a Datome jumper, the hosts called timeout. Rudy Fernandez hit a mid-range jumper that closed the gap to 27-30 at the break.
Third quarter: Bogdanovic has 8 in decisive 0-14 Fenerbahce charge
Fernandez tied it up with a three at the start of the second half. Ayon stole the ball from Bogdanovic and took it in for a go-ahead layup. After Udoh split free throws, he blocked Ayon’s jumper and Dixon put the visitors back ahead, 32-33. Bogdanovic added a tough layup for his first points and then drilled a triple-plus-foul. Ayon missed twice from the line and Bogdanovic punished Los Blancos with another jumper. Datome added a lucky three to beat the shot clock and cap a 0-14 Fenerbahce charge. Reyes tried to turn things around with a basket for Madrid, but Dixon put the visitors up 34-47 with a three-pointer. Rodriguez netted a three, but Udoh sank free throws at the other end. Ayon broke open for an easy score, but Kalinic’s tip-in and Datome’s free throw after a technical foul on Madrid’s Coach Laso kept Fenerbahce in charge. Rodriguez split free throws and Dixon’s floater ended the quarter at 40-54.
Fourth quarter: Datome’s block ends Madrid momentum
Udoh added free throws early in the quarter. Rodriguez gave the locals hope with a four-point play, but Bogdanovic broke open after the free throw and Datome sent the long pass for an easy basket. Jonas Maciulis tried to spark the hosts with a three, but back-to-back threes by Datome and Bogdanovic all but sealed the outcome at 47-64. Carroll fed Ayon for a basket inside, but Kalinic matched him at the other end. Carroll nailed a triple and rejected Kostas Sloukas. After a pair of threes by Llull, it was 58-66 with five minutes to go and Fenerbahce called timeout. Datome sank a jumper and then silenced the arena with a chasedown block of Llull. Baskets by Bogdanovic and Udoh put the visitors up by 14 with three minutes remaining. After a Madrid timeout, Ayon’s putback and Rodriguez’s triple made it 63-72. Madrid started to foul to stop the clock, but the hosts missed their next three shots and Fenerbahce coasted to victory and a ticket to Berlin.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Euroleague.net