The swingman has become a key player for Saras Jasikevicius
Marko Guduric’s sweet form continued for firing Fenerbahce
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Regular Season
Round 23 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul is on the march, moving within one win of first place – and with a game in hand – by taking a fifth consecutive victory in a 77-87 battle over league leader Olympiacos Piraeus on Friday night.
And although this particular success was more about collective strength than individual brilliance, it did confirm that Marko Guduric is in arguably the best form of his long and illustrious EuroLeague career.
The veteran swingman led his team by netting 21 points with impressive efficiency, making all 5 of his two-point attempts, shooting 2 of 4 from beyond the arc and converting 5 of his 6 free throws. He also dished 4 assists and grabbed 3 rebounds for a game-high PIR of 25, spending more than 26 minutes on the floor.
And that was nothing new, because Guduric has been consistently excellent throughout his team’s surge towards the top of the standings.
He has scored in double digits in six straight games, averaging 16.2 points, and is also orchestrating the offense with an average of 4.5 assists during that timespan. Add in his ability to draw fouls and get to the foul line, his dogged defense and a team-first ethic, and it’s easy to claim that Guduric, right now, is the most important player for the hottest team in the competition.
It wasn’t always that way. The 29-year-old, now in his ninth season in the competition and with 269 EuroLeague appearances under his belt, suffered a slow start to the campaign. He particularly struggled during a three-game stretch in December, recording averages of just 4.0 points and a 1.3 PIR from a tough run of games against Real Madrid, AS Monaco and FC Barcelona.
But he showed great resilience to rediscover his best form, and is now clearly a man on a mission. Even after Friday’s win he didn’t let the mask slip.
Shrugging off Jasikevicius’s joking suggestion that he could enjoy a celebratory beer rather than a rehydrating water without even raising a smile, Guduric stayed in game-face mode: “It was not easy. Game of the season, [against the] best team in EuroLeague right now, but I think we did a pretty good job defensively. Our intensity was there and I’m happy we won the game.”
And Fener fans are just as happy to see their key backcourt presence prolonging his hot streak.