Fenerbahce Ulker pounded Cibona 100-70

Fenerbahce Ulker kept pace for the best record in the Euroleague this season by dominating Cibona Zagreb from start to finish for a 100-70 victory in front of 15,168 fans at Sinan Erdem Arena in Istanbul. Omer Onan scored 8 in 10-0 first-quarter run and Fenerbahce added a 9-0 spurt to make it 30-13 after 10 minutes, setting the stage for an easy and enjoyable win. The Turkish champs improved to 6-1 this season and remain at least tied for the top spot in Turkish Airlines Euroleague Group C. Tarence Kinsey paced FB Ulker with 20 points, Roko Ukic netted 17 in just 16 minutes, Mirsad Turkcan posted 13 points and 9 rebounds, Onan also scored 13 and Kaya Peker finished with 11 points for the winners, who put their perfect home record on the line next week against Euroleague champ Regal FC Barcelona. League-leading scorer Bojan Bogdanovic led Cibona with 23 points, while Leon Radosevic added 15 and Drago Pasalic 12. Cibona dropped to 0-7 and will host Montepaschi next week in hope of picking up its first win.

Onan corralled the opening tip and scored the first basket just seconds into the game. Onan remained active at both ends, but it was Bogdanovic who scored from downtown first for the visitors. Peker found Ukic for a basket and Emir Preldzic netted FB Ulker’s first triple. A Bogdanovic three-point play kept the visitors close at 9-8. That’s when the Onan show began. The veteran guard sandwiched a pair of three-pointers around a fast break layup as the hosts stormed ahead. Ukic capped a 10-0 run to give Fener its first double-digit lead. Radosevic and Karlo Vragovic both scored to help Cibona settle down. Still Peker came up with three the hard way to put Fenerbahce up 12. A Kinsey floater and a Darjus Lavrinovic basket fueled a 9-0 push as the lead hit 18. Bogdanovic’s first successful free throw – after 3 misses – cut the gap to 30-13 at the end of the quarter.

Fenerbahce’s smothering defense did not allow Cibona any clean looks at the basket, but it went a bit too far when rookie Erbil Eroglu – a teenager making his Euroleague debut – pulled down Pasalic for an unsportsmanlike foul. Still the hosts dominated and Peker stretched the lead to 20. Toni Brnas converted a circus shot and drew a third foul from Preldzic to make it 34-17. Kinsey wowed the fans as he blew past Rok Stipcevic for a basket-plus-foul. Radosevic’s crisp pass found Pasalic open inside and then Radosevic banked in a jumper. However multiple second chances thanks to some great offensive rebounds helped the lead climb back to 20. Cibona had some pretty moves with Bogdanovic scoring and Stipcevic setting up Radosevic to draw a foul from Oguz Savas. Turkcan’s jumper was bettered by Stipcevic with a deep three. And Radosevic bounced a pass to Pasalic for a slam, but it was only enough to trim the deficit to 49-29 at the break.

The flow of the game remained the same as the second half began. Cibona was able to trim a bit off the deficit as a Bogdanovic spinning layup and a Pasalic triple made it 55-36, however Ukic answered with jumper and a drive to restore the 20+ points advantage. Bogdanovic and Pasalic continued to generate most of Cibona’s points, but not enough to threaten the lead. Kinsey thrilled the fans with a rim-rocking slam and a minute later with an impressive floater and a foul. In the interim, Bogdanovic netted 5 quick points for the visitors. A Turkcan triple made it 69-49 late in the quarter. Kinsey added to his highlight reel with a three-point play. Tomislav Zubcic tipped in a Pasalic miss before Lynn Greer beat the buzzer to put 74-51 on the scoreboard with 10 minutes remaining.

Savas had a few nice plays early in the fourth quarter with a pair of baskets and a nifty pass to Turkcan. Vragovic from outside and Zubcic from downtown provided points for Cibona. Kinsey came down hard after attacking the basket and meeting Radosevic, but bounced back up to make the resulting free throws. Turkcan soon pumped the lead to 26 midway through the fourth quarter. Kinsey slammed home his 20th point of the night as the hosts played out the final minutes to the singing of their satisfied fans en route to another impressive win.