Fenerbahçe Istanbul v FC Barcelona Lassa: Painful defeat in overtime (68-65)

Fenerbahçe Istanbul v FC Barcelona Lassa: Painful defeat in overtime (68-65)

The blaugranas were impressive in defence but a lack of points in the final minutes ended up costing them the victory in Turkey

Barça Lassa competed until the bitter end against a Fenerbahçe side who had a lot to play for as they head into the quarter final draw. In the end the Turkish side secured a much-needed win in extra time of a thrilling match (68-65). Bartzokas’ men worked hard in defence but weren’t clinical enough in attack in the last moments of the match and it ended up being the difference between the two sides.

Clinical Claver

The game started with a low-scoring first quarter in which neither team were playing particularly well. Only Víctor Claver was able to score any points in the first seven minutes and he went on to get Barça’s first ten of the opening quarter which gave the Catalans a 15-11 lead.

The second quarter started with a comeback from the home side but the blaugranas responded with nine unanswered points of their own. Tyrese Rice was prominent in Barça’s best plays and he added two baskets in a row to give his team a one point lead at the break (30-31).

Navarro reaches the historic figure of 4,000 points in the Euroleague

The start of the third quarter was dominated by the Turkish team with ten unanswered points. Juan Carlos Navarro responded with a score of his own which meant he reached is the first player to score 4,000 points in the Euroleague.

Blaugranas respond

Bartzokas’ team responded in style with eleven points to Fenerbahçe’s two. Rice scored a great three pointer and this gave the Catalans the lead with one minute to go in the third quarter. The quarter ended with the US pivot assisting for Diagné to give Barça a deserved lead (44-46).

The final quarter followed the script from the rest of the match: Barça played well in defence but were unable to be clinical enough in attack. However, the blaugranas almost won the game in regular time but Rice was unable to make possession count at the death. The side’s went into extra time tied on 58 points.

Koponen scored a three pointer which was then cancelled out by Bogdanovic. The Serbian then gave the home side a lead that they never relinquished. Fenerbahçe secured a win against a fighting Barça Lassa in an intense game at the Ülker Sports Arena which brought the first phase of the Euroleague to an end.

Força Barça
Força Barça

Related to this article

Close article

Related to this article