Prolific backcourt fired Zvezda past Fenerbahce
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (17-17) ended its Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season on a high note with a 91-89 overtime home win over Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (19-15), which earned the Serbian team a rising ovation from its fans after the rip-roaring contest in the cauldron of Aleksandar Nikolic Hall on Thursday.
It wasn’t enough to send Zvezda through to the playoffs despite the win being its fifth in a row, while Fenerbahce was still able to stagger into the postseason by virtue of another result going the Turkish team’s way, with Olympiacos Piraeus beating Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 86-78 at home.
Zvezda thrived from a majestic backcourt performance as Facundo Campazzo, Ognjen Dobric and Luca Vildoza netted a combined total of 63 points, blowing away their Fenerbahce rivals. At the other end, Nick Calathes, Marko Guduric and Tyler Dorsey only managed 34 points between them, hence a huge night by center Jonathan Motley (27 points) was not enough for Fenerbahce.
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Shots from two-point territory were also a factor, as Zvezda made 26 of 40 while Fenerbahce was 21 of 43, with the visiting backcourt trio sinking just 4 of 13 from inside the arc. They didn’t shine from three-point range either, netting 6 of 17 as Fenerbahce shot 10-of-28 from downtown.
Zvezda was a slightly better 8-of-21, compensating for Fenerbahce’s rebounding superiority as the visitors racked up a total of 38 boards against Zvezda’s 29. In a game of thin lines, it was Campazzo’s brilliance that made the difference as the Argentine playmaker netted 24 points to go with 3 assists and as many rebounds, with the effervescent Dobric contributing with 22 points on the back of 9-of-14 shooting from the floor.