2018-19Regular SeasonRound 7
Olympiacos Piraeus 72
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 73
November 15, 2018 CET: 20:00
Local time: 21:00 PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP STADIUM

Sloukas lifts Fenerbahce in Piraeus

In a big battle that literally came down to the final second, Fenerbahce Istanbul edged Olympiacos Piraeus 72-73 on the road on Thursday. Fenerbahce improved to 6-1, while Olympiacos dropped to 3-4. Kostas Sloukas led the winners with 20 points on 7-of-7 free throw shooting against his former team. Nikola Kalinic added 16 point and Melih Mahmutoglu had 12 for Fenerbahce. Kostas Papanikolaou led Olympiacos with 18 points, Nigel Williams-Goss scored 13 and Georgios Printezis posted 10 points and 10 rebounds for the hosts.

Kalinic and Sloukas shined early to give Fenerbahce a 6-8 lead. Both players kept pushing Fenerbahce but Georgios Bogris and Printezis kept Olympiacos within 18-19. Free throws by Luigi Datome fixed the score at 18-21 after 10 minutes. Three-pointers by Vassilis Spanoulis and Zach LeDay put Olympiacos in charge, 24-23, early in the second quarter. Joffrey Lauvergne and Kalinic briefly gave Fenerbahce the lead, 25-27, but Axel Toupane and Nikola Milutinov fueled a 10-0 run that restored a 35-27 Olympiacos advantage. Mahmutoglou struck twice from downtown and a jumper by Sloukas tied it at 35-35. Sloukas added 4 free throws to cap a 0-12 run, but a floater by Williams-Goss and free throws by Printezis tied the game, 39-39, at halftime. Papanikaolou took over after the break to give Olympiacos a 47-43 lead. Ali Muhammed tried to change things for the visitors, getting help from Melli and Lauvergne to keep Fenerbahce within 53-50 after 30 minutes. Three-pointers by Datome and Melli put Fenerbahce back in charge, 55-58, with more than seven minutes left and an alley-oop slam by Milutinov turned the game into a thriller at 60-60. Mahmutoglu struck again from downtown and Kalinic scored twice in the paint for a 64-67 Fenerbahce edge. Williams-Goss hit a triple and a dunk by Milutinov caused Olympiacos to regain the lead at 69-67 in the next-to-last minute. Sloukas hit 3 free throws and buried a clutch three-pointer that seemed to seal the outcome, 69-73, with 1:07 left. Papanikolaou answered from downtown and Kalinic missed at the other end, but Williams-Goss and Milutinov both missed in the game's final seconds.

Pivotal performer

Kalinic had a really strong game, using his versatility and high basketball IQ to dominate. He had 16 points, tying his season-high in scoring, and added 4 rebounds and 4 fouls drawn for a performance index rating of 15.

Game-changing moment

With the game on the line, Sloukas drew a foul while shooting from downtown, hit all 3 free throw attempts and then buried a stop-and-pop three-pointer that allowed Fenerbahce to escape with a road win.

Stellar stat

Fenerbahce hit 14 of 15 free throws (93.3%); that is the fourth-best mark in the EuroLeague this season and just the seventh time that Fenerbahce has shot 93% or better in the competition.

Did you notice?

Olympiacos had a much higher team index rating in this game than Fenerbahce, 87 to 73. Despite the PIR difference, Fenerbahce got a prestigious road win.

Next game:

Both teams return to EuroLeague action on Tuesday, November 20; Fenerbahce hosts cross-town rivals Darussafaka Tekfen Istanbul and Olympiacos travels to Germany to face FC Bayern Munich.

Kostas Sloukas - Fenerbahce Istanbul - EB18
Thursday, November 15, 2018
Euroleague.net
Referees: RYZHYK, BORYS; ROCHA, FERNANDO; PERUGA, CARLOS
Attendance: 9379
By Quarter1234
Olympiacos Piraeus18211419
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul21181123
End of Quarter1234
Olympiacos Piraeus18395372
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul21395073
Olympiacos Piraeus
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
3 WILLIAMS-GOSS, NIGEL 25:11 13 4/7 1/2 2/2   1 1 5   1     2 3 15
6 TOUPANE, AXEL 11:50 6   2/4   1   1 1         1   5
7 SPANOULIS, VASSILIS 23:19 8 1/2 1/4 3/4   2 2 5   4     3 4 7
10 TIMMA, JANIS 7:29   0/1 0/3                       -4
11 MILUTINOV, NIKOLA 28:34 6 3/7     2 3 5 4   1 1 1 2 2 10
13 STRELNIEKS, JANIS 16:52 2 1/3 0/2     1 1 1   1   1     -2
14 VEZENKOV, SASHA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
15 PRINTEZIS, GEORGIOS 36:35 10 3/8   4/4 1 9 10     1 1   1 6 20
16 PAPANIKOLAOU, KOSTAS 25:06 18 4/4 2/4 4/5   4 4 1 2   1   2 4 25
17 MANTZARIS, VANGELIS 10:30 2 1/1 0/1     1 1           1   1
31 BOGRIS, GEORGIOS 10:12 4 2/3           1 1       3   2
32 LEDAY, ZACH 4:22 3   1/1                       3
Team           3 3 6     1         5
Totals 200:00 72 19/36 7/21 13/15 7 24 31 18 3 9 3 2 15 19 87
        52.8% 33.3% 86.7%
Head coach: BLATT, DAVID
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
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 GREEN, ERICK DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
4 MELLI, NICOLO 34:19 8 1/6 2/3   3 6 9 3 1 1 1   5 1 11
10 MAHMUTOGLU, MELIH 26:57 12 0/1 4/7     1 1           3 2 8
12 KALINIC, NIKOLA 27:56 16 4/6 1/3 5/6 3 1 4     1     3 4 15
16 SLOUKAS, KOSTAS 33:51 20 5/10 1/3 7/7   5 5 4   2   1 2 5 22
18 ARNA, EGEHAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
23 GUDURIC, MARKO 2:11               1   1     1   -1
32 GULER, SINAN 6:14   0/2       1 1           1   -2
35 MUHAMMED, ALI 10:30 2 1/3 0/1     1 1 3 1         1 5
44 DUVERIOGLU, AHMET 19:24 2 1/2     1 3 4 1   1   1 3 1 2
70 DATOME, LUIGI 17:50 7 1/3 1/3 2/2   1 1     1   1 1 1 2
77 LAUVERGNE, JOFFREY 20:48 6 3/5     1 3 4 2   1 1       10
Team           1 1 2     1         1
Totals 200:00 73 16/38 9/20 14/15 9 23 32 14 2 9 2 3 19 15 73
        42.1% 45% 93.3%
Head coach: OBRADOVIC, ZELJKO

Head Coaches

BLATT, DAVID
Olympiacos Piraeus
"First of all, I want to thank our fans for coming out and supporting us the way that they did. Very, very tough high-level game between two very good teams. Sometimes games come down to one or two plays, and unfortunately for us, they made one more than we did. That was the difference in the game. Little things make the difference and tonight, very few, but little things did make the difference. The season is long and we have to stay together as a unit and to improve on those little things that come up in games like this in our favor, and I believe that we will."
OBRADOVIC, ZELJKO
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
"The game was decided in the last possession, in which Williams-Goss missed the shot, so that means Olympiacos also had the possibility to win the game. I believe that we came to this point of the game, a critical moment, that they scored two three-point shots in the final seconds, one by Williams-Goss and that, an incredible shot by Papanikolaou, but this is the beauty of basketball. In our last possession, offensively, we didn't play so good, even when it was a correct shot by Nikola Kalinic. We missed and then like I said, Olympiacos had the last possession. It was a very tough, very close game, and an important win for us, but we have played just seven games in the EuroLeague and have a lot of games in front of us to try to play better."

Players

BOGRIS, GEORGIOS
Olympiacos Piraeus
"The truth is that it was a very difficult game. We wanted to win it because we come off two consecutive losses. For the most part, we concentrated and followed the plan. It did not cost us one lost rebound or big shot. I believe that some wrong choices on offense did not allow us to win the game. Fener is a quality team, but we could have won the game. It is still November. Olympiacos has begun with the same record other seasons and reached the top. This defeat threw away the wins we had at the start the season. The schedule does not suit us, and as a team we have not made a rhythm and confidence. We have to overcome losses like the one today and have to start doing that against Bayern in Germany."
SLOUKAS, KOSTAS
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
"I am very happy. We went to 6-1 and continue looking good. I have great respect for Olympiacos, I spent many years here. Everyone knows this. Everyone knows that Olympiacos is in the elite, that is where it belongs. Thanks to our coach, I appreciate him and we have a great relationship. We played a hard game. It was difficult for me, too, I had never won here. Olympiacos is an excellent team, especially at home. We played without Jan Vesely, which is a big deal. We dedicate this victory to him."
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