Nemanja Bjelica was the hero for Fenerbahce as his free throws with 13 seconds left secured a 91-90 win over Laboral Kutxa in Group F of the Euroleague Top 16.
Bjelica has been in sublime form as of late, and this showing was no exception. In addition to his game-winning foul shots, he amassed 14 points, 15 rebounds and 2 blocks for his side as Fenerbahce move to 4-2 in the group.
Mike James had a chance to win it for the visiting Laboral Kutxa, but his attempted clutch moment missed out and it was Bjelica who grabbed the resulting rebound to give the Turkish side the win.
“The game was very important for us,” Fenerbahce coach Zeljko Obradovic commented. “We tried to be at the level how we played lately, first of all defensively. So it was easy to recognize we had problems defensively. We played a lot of one-to-one. They are a team that often tries to find a first option.
“We talked in half-time about changing defence, and I think at one period we played excellent. This is Euroleague, and Laboral Kutxa plays the same regardless of being up or down. And they came back. It would still be easy to finish the game, but turnovers almost decided the game.
“Just one steal and 12 turnovers is too much, and if you do this in the crucial moment of the game, you have a problem. Finally, they had two shots and they did not score. I don’t know if it is because of our good defence or they were unlucky, but we won the game.”
Andrew Goudelock led the winners with 19 points. Fernando San Emeterio paced Vitoria with 15, as they fall to 2-4.
There were equally as many nerves over the result for another of the Turkish sides, but like Fenerbahce, Anadolu Efes managed to hold on to record a 73-71 success over EA7 Milano in the fashion capital.
Fiercely intense throughout with the biggest leas in the entire game being six points, Stratos Perperoglou hit free throws to help secure the win for Anadolu with 2.5 seconds to play.
Perperoglou netted all of his 18 points in the second half, to lead the scoring for the visitors and Milko Bjelica added 15 for Efes as they improve to 4-2 in Group F. Milano slump to 1-5.
“We knew it would be tough to win here,” Perperoglou said. “It was one of last chances for Milan. They played tough and really good. We are happy to get the win. We needed it because our goal is to go to the next round.”
Unicaja Malaga finally got off the mark in the Top 16 with a comfortable 85-76 win over Nizhny Novgorod.
Jayson Granger starred with 29 points as the Liga Endesa leaders grabbed their first Euroleague win since November.
Trey Thompkins led Nizhny with 27 points.
Panathinaikos produced a strong second half to outlast ALBA Berlin 65-59 in the German capital in a defensive-minded contest.
Trailing 29-22 at half-time, the Greek side stormed back to tie the game at 45-45, part of a 20-4 run after three quarters. They then pressed on in front of a passionate O2 World Arena crowd to secure victory and move to 4-2 in Group E.
Loukas Mavrokefalidis led the winners with 11 points, while Dimitris Diamantidis and Vlantimir Giankovits had 10 each. Alba, which had a 23-11 rebounding advantage in the first half but only 38-29 at game’s end, got 11 points each from Reggie Redding and Jamel McLean.
