Fenerbahce
Ulker hosts Lietuvos Rytas in a crucial Group E encounter on Thursday
night at the Abdi Ipekci Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. Both teams enter
the game at 1-1 and tied for second place in the group, knowing that
this result could end up being crucial in deciding which team advances
to the Quarterfinal Playoffs. For L. Rytas it will be the first
appearance all season without its leading big man, Marijonas Petrovic,
who broke his foot in training and is out for at least the rest of the
Top 16. His injury combined with the fact that big man Matt Nielsen has
yet to return from an injury of his own leaves head coach Aleksandar
Trifunovic without the starting froncourt that helped the team finish
the regular season atop Group B. In their place, Jackson Vroman and
Kenan Bajramovic will see big minutes, while 2.16-meter rookie
Michailis Anismovas becomes a key reserve. Unfortunately for the
visitors, they run into one of the deepest frontcourt rotations around
as Fener features five players standing 2.06 meters or taller – not
including power forward Mirsad Turkcan, who is still at least two weeks
away from his return from a bout with a virus. The hosts frontcourt is
led by center Oguz Savas and Omer Asik, who leads the Top 16 in blocked
shots. The point guard matchup is a crucial one for both teams as
Willie Solomon of Fenerbahce Ulker and L. Rytas’s Hollis Price are both
the engines that rev their teams. Omer Onan, Tarence Kinsey, Damir Kaan
and James White round out a strong perimeter rotation for Fener that
features athleticism, shooting and defense. L. Rytas’s backcourt leans
on Arturas Jomantas, Mindaugas Lukauskis, reserve playmaker Jared
Jordan and small forward Chuck Eidson. The visitors’ interior injury
woes make them the underdog and put plenty of pressure on Vroman and
Bajramovic. L. Rytas, generally a very good perimeter-shooting team,
will need to have its outside guys in good form to help out the bigs to
have a chance at an important road win. Meanwhile Fener will use its
depth to its advantage trying to pound away inside and draw fouls.
Ultimately the mist-win duel for L. Rytas is at point guard, where
Price will need to outplay Solomon on both ends of the court if his
team is to take a tough road win in Istanbul.
In
a game so dramatic, it had to be won twice, Fenerbahce Ulker rallied
from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat visiting
Lietuvos Rytas 95-91 after overtime on Thursday in Instanbul, Turkey.
Fenerbahce improved to 2-1 and takes over second place in Group E,
while injury-plagued L. Rytas dropped to 1-2. Overtime was played
almost an hour late because Fenerbahce thought it had already won on
Will Solomon's tie-breaking jump shot on the fourth-quarter buzzer. But
the referees ruled belatedly that Solomon's shot left his hands late,
with no time left to play. After a Fenerbahce celebration, both teams
were in their locker rooms when told to return to the court and warm up
for overtime, during which the hosts dominated . Solomon had 5 of
Fenerbahce's 16 points in overtime and led the winners with 27 total.
Tarence Kinsey added 16, Omer Asic 13, Emir Preldzic and Omer Onan 10
each for the winners. Asic had 7 rebounds and 5 blocks, too. For L.
Rytas, Kenan Bajramovic poured in 22 points, while Chuck Eidson had 20,
Hollis Price 18 and Mindaugas Lukauskis 11. Both teams had traded
baskets at full speed in an incredible first quarter. Eidson beat the
buzzer with a wild triple for a 25-27 L. Rytas edge after 10 minutes.
Solomon stepped up for Fenerbahce while Asik and a dominant Semih Erden
allowed the hosts to get a 45-34 margin at the break. L. Rytas found
go-to guys in the unstoppable Bajramovic and Price to mount a comeback
that Eidson completed with a double-digit lead, 55-65, early in the
fourth quarter. Fenerbahce rallied behind Solomon, who tied it 79-79 in
the final minute of regulation time, and seemed to end it with the
fourth-quarter buzzer, but had to make sure in overtime.
Barjamovic
got L. Rytas going with a driving layup that Savas erased with a close
jumper for a 2-2 tie. L. Rytas started by running its offense through
Barjamovic without much success. Meanwhile, Onan fired in a triple from
the right wing for a 5-2 Fenerbahce edge. Jackson Vroman shined with a
left-handed layup that Price followed with a basket off the inbounds
steal, but Solomon struck from downtown to restore a 8-6 Fenerbahce
lead. Bajramovic made free throws, igniting a 0-8 L. Rytas run that
Vroman highlighted with a fast break dunk and in which Mindaugas
Lukauskis had a couple of driving layups to make Fenerbahce call
timeout at 8-14. Gasper Vidmar stepped up with a power layup that
Solomon followed with a fast break basket to bring the hosts within
12-14. Eidson took over with a wild dunk that Solomon erased with
another driving basket that Onan followed with a fast break layup to
tie the game, 16-16. Eidson sank a triple and even when Savas scored in
the paint, Lukauskis hit a floating jumper for an 18-21 L. Rytas lead.
Onan nailed an off-balanced three-pointer that Bajramovic erased at the
other end. Onan scored again in penetration and Savas added a layup
before Eidson beat the buzzer with a seven-meter bomb, good for a 25-27
L. Rytas edge at the end of a run-and-gun first quarter.
Kinsay
took over with a driving basket right at the start of the second
quarter and soon added a four-meter jumper to make Fenerbahce restore a
29-27 edge. Solomon stepped up with a mid-range jumper that Eidson
matched with free throws, as L. Rytas kept trying full court pressure
after foul shots made. Kinsay kept pacing Fener with another basket
while Asik had started to intimidate the entire L. Rytas frontcourt in
defense. L. Rytas called timeout at 34-29 to adjust its offense, trying
to get Eidson more involved. Semih Erden provided a highlight with a
wild fast break dunk and then had a big block on Barjamovic, as the
guests struggled to score even from the foul line now. Meanwhile, Asik
fed Erden for a layup-plus-foul that boosted the hosts' lead to double
digits, 39-29, after a 14-2 run. Lukauskis tried to change things for
L. Rytas with a five-meter jumper but Fenerbahce kept dominating the
defensive board while Emir Preldzic made the guests call timeout at
42-31. Preldzic and Lukauskis traded free throws while Asik dunked it
to set the crowd in fire, 45-32. Free throws by Vroman and Arturas
Jomantas brought L. Rytas within 45-34 at halftime.
Bajramovic
trued to ignit the guests' comeback with a free throw right after the
break but Solomon added a stop-and-pop jumper for a 12-point Fener
lead, 47-35. L. Rytas kept attacking the basket to go to the foul line
often, as Vroman hit free throws while Price buried his first
three-pointer to bring the guests back to life, 47-40. Fenerbahce could
not find the way to the basket now, while Bajramovic scored over Erden
and added free throws to make it a three-point game, 47-44, after a 0-9
run. Solomon sank a three-pointer but Eidson buried a mid-range shot
and Bajramovic - who else? - added a layup in transition for a 50-48 L.
Rytas deficit. Michailis Anisimovas tied the game with a tip-in while
an unstoppable Barjamovic stroke from downtown to complete the guests'
comeback, 51-53, after 27 minutes. Solomon scored in penetration but
free throws by Eidson kept L. Rytas ahead, 53-55. Fenerbahce failed to
get its big men involved now so coach Bogdan Tanjevic called a
much-needed timeout. Even with that, Price sank a running jumper,
Lukauskis added a four-meter shot while Eidson took over with an
incredible three-point play before Price scored again for a 55-63 L.
Rytas edge after 30 minutes.
Anisimovas
scored again to give L. Rytas its first double-digit lead, 55-65, early
in the fourth quarter. Kinsey stepped up with a corner three-pointer as
Fener improved its defense. Meanwhile, Asik scored around the basket
for a 60-65 deficit. Bajramovic shined with a driving basket that
Kinsey erased with a close jumper while Solomon stroke to make L. Rytas
call timeout at 65-67. Once again Bajramovic shined with a corner
three-pointer while Solomon and Erden combined for 2-for-6 free throws
for a 67-70 Fenerbahce deficit with 5 minutes to go. Anisimovas scored
inside but Asik answered with an acrobatic layup. Solomon drew an
offensive foul on Price that allowed Kinsey to score in the other end
but an alleyoop layup by Anisimovas still gave L. Rytas a three-point
lead, 71-74. A technical foul on Solomon helped Price to sink free
throws bur Preldzic brought Fenerbahce back to life with a triple,
74-76. Price hit a triple that hit the rim, popped up and fell down but
Damir Kaan answered with his own shot from downtown. Jomantas missed
free throws while Solomon tied the game with 50 seconds remaining,
79-79. Bajramovic and Price missed from downtown while Solomon buried a
six-meter shot that set Fenerbahce and all its fans celebrating. L.
Rytas claimed that the shot came after the buzzer and instant replay
confirmed it, so the players were called back on court from the locker
rooms and overtime started more than half an hour after the end of the
regulation.
The overtime started just as balanced as the final
minutes, as Jomantas tied again, 83-83, with free throws. Kinsay hit a
driving layup that Eidson matched on a second-chance basket at 85-85.
Solomon made a free throw while Eidson missed from downtown. Preldzic
made foul shots on Bajramovic's fifth foul for a 88-85 edge with 98
seconds remaining. Asik shined with a huge dunk over Vroman while
Solomon added an acrobatic driving layup to seal the outcome, 92-85,
with a minute to go. Anisimovas scored in the paint while Eidson added
an outstaning driving layup to give L. Rytas some hope, 92-89, with 20
seconds remaining. Preldzic made 1-for-2 free throws but a huge block
by Asik allowed all Fenerbahce fans that came back to Abdi Ipecki to
celebrate a major win. Kaan made free throws to seal an incredible win
in style, in one of the longest Euroleague games ever!
