A crucial 11-4 run in the third quarter was enough for Fenerbahce to beat Olympiacos in Euroleague’s Championship Game (80-64) and claim the title for the first time in its history.
For the winners, who hit 13 three-pointers, Nikola Kalinic and Bogdan Bogdanovic each scored 17 points, with Ekpe Udoh adding 10 points, nine rebounds, four assists, five blocks and 29 in the ranking system.
On the other hand, Khem Birch had 14 points for the Greek team, which couldn’t overcome the odds for another time, with Vassilis Spanoulis adding nine points (on 2/12 shooting), along with eight assists.
Fenerbahce made a tremendous start to the game and quickly earned a significant advantage (13-6, 16-8), with Kalinic exploding from beyond the arc and the Turkish team shooting the ball very well.
Although Olympiacos tried to turn things around (16-13), Fenerbahce closed the first quarter in front by eight (26-18), thanks to Bogdanovic’s buzzer beater.
Later, the “Reds” cut the deficit to four (27-23), however Fenerbahce responded again (35-25). It was Birch’s two-pointer at the buzzer, though, that helped coach Giannis Sfairopoulos’ players cut the deficit to just five (39-34), after 20 minutes in the game.
In the second half, Vangelis Mantzaris back-to-back three-pointers let the “Reds” remain competitive (44-40), with Nikola Milutinov offering decent solutions offensively, too (49-44).
But, an 8-0 run by coach Obradovic’s players help them take a 13-point lead (57-44), with the Turkish squad ending the third quarter in front by 12 (60-48).
In the fourth quarter, Fenerbahce made an 8-2 run and extended its lead to 18 (68-50), with eight minutes remaining in the game.
Things didn’t significantly change in the remaining minutes, with Olympiacos trying to make a come-back, but Fenerbahce easily retained its lead until the end and won the Euroleague title for the first time in the club’s history.
