Its Round 34 triumph locked up the two seed in the playoffs
Fenerbahce showed its championship credentials ‘for 16 minutes’ in Bayern victory
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Regular Season
Round 34 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Already aware that a top-three place was guaranteed, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul was simply playing for seeding on the last day of the regular season. Win and it could finish first or second; lose and it might finish third.
On the road against an FC Bayern Munich side knowing that a victory could be enough to book a guaranteed ticket to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs, the stage was set for a tricky game for coach Saras Jasikevicius’s team.
But Fenerbahce didn’t look overawed at SAP Garden. In fact, it thrived on the occasion.
The Bayern players were forced into mistake after mistake on the offensive end while Fenerbahce was completely at ease, knocking down 5 three-pointers – 2 apiece for Errick McCollum and Nicolo Melli, and 1 for Tarik Biberovic – to open a 4-18 lead. The visitors were up by 15 points, 13-28, at the end of the first period, then went ahead by 19 (16-35) and later 24 (19-43) after a pair of triples by Melli and Nigel Hayes-Davis.
There was a resigned look on the faces of those in Bayern jerseys, whereas the Fenerbahce players were enjoying themselves. Only in the event of a defeat for Olympiacos Piraeus at home to Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv could Fenerbahce finish first, but Coach Jasikevicius’s squad were putting on a show in the first half in Munich.
At halftime the visitors’ advantage was back to 15 points, 31-46, and it hovered around the 15-17-point mark for much of the third frame. In the fourth quarter, however, Bayern got within six points (71-77) as a famous comeback seemed on the cards, but buckets by Wade Baldwin, Marko Guduric and Hayes-Davis took away any sense of drama as Fenerbahce went back up by 15 (71-86).
Despite coming away with a 77-89 win and locking up the two seed in the playoffs, there was a sense of frustration that Fenerbahce had allowed its level to drop after enjoying such a commanding lead.
“We played probably 16 good minutes today, which is not good for this time of the year,” Hayes-Davis told EuroLeague TV after the game. “We’re trying to go into the playoffs playing very well. We want to play 35-40 minutes of good Fenerbahce basketball; today we played 16.
"We shot the ball very well and they didn’t play so well and shoot the ball so well, and we were able to get a good win. Performances like this going into the postseason is how you go home earlier than you want to.”
Rather than take umbrage with Hayes-Davis’s comments, Coach Jasikevicius chose to sing from the same hymn sheet.
“He’s not critical, he’s honest,” the 49-year-old stated. “The more players like this you have on your team, the more chances you have of winning. This is exactly what happened. We fell in love with the offense and when Bayern raised their intensity a bit, thank God a couple of shots fell in.
“But they took out of our offense and defensively… okay, Carsen Edwards is having an amazing season, but 22-23 points in the second half, when we’re still not in foul trouble or in the bonus, is too much for Carsen.
“First of all, it’s a great win. Not many teams are winning over here, but now looking towards the playoffs, we need to be smarter. I might tell Nigel it’s probably a little bit more than 16 minutes, but I’m happy to have players like this who are willing to push the limits, that’s the only way.”
Fenerbahce will end up facing whichever team finishes as the seventh seed, so that will come from the winner of the 7-8 matchup, the seeding for which has not yet been determined.
Coach Jasikevicius and his men have high hopes about what they can achieve this season, and they showed it for at least 16 minutes at SAP Garden. The goal, as Hayes-Davis said, is to perform at that level for the full 40 minutes once the EuroLeague Playoffs get underway on April 22.