This opponent was better this time: After five consecutive wins, FC Bayern Basketball was defeated on Tuesday evening by Turkish title contender Fenerbahce Istanbul, 76-87 (30-35), marking their third loss on the ninth EuroLeague game day. An 18-2 run by the strong-performing hosts before halftime ultimately shifted the game decisively in front of 12,400 loud fans, and Fener shot with great confidence thereafter.
Edwards (24 points) and Booker (20) initially read the defense of their former team exceptionally well, contributing all the points for the 16-9 start (8th minute). When Obst extended the lead to 19-11, Jasikevicius called a timeout.
Fenerbahce - FC Bayern Basketball 87:76 (35:30)
- FCBBCarsen Edwards (24 points, 5 assists), Devin Booker (20), Oscar Da Silva (10), Nick Weiler-Babb (7 points, 5 assists, 6 rebounds), Andreas Obst (6), Elias Harris (4), Johannes Voigtmann (2, 6 rebounds), Ivan Kharchenkov, and Kevin Yebo
- Top Scorer FenerbahceNigel Hayes-Davis (25 Points)
- RefereeEmilio Perez, Joseph Bissang, Guido Giovannetti
- Attendance12.400
Only Nine Points Before Halftime
Herbert's game plan was working, and Fener's offense struggled. After going up 21-11, the favorite responded with much more aggressive defense, putting strong pressure on the three-point shooters — down to 23-29 (17th minute). The Turkish champions looked for fast breaks and posted up effectively, turning a strong first quarter (21-13) into a rough second one (9-22).
After halftime, Fener continued to score smartly at the rim (50-55/28th minute), while Edwards kept up the fight. However, defensive stops were missing, especially against Hayes-Davis (25 points) and also Melli.
The American couldn’t be stopped, with the score reaching 58-72 just 1:34 minutes into the final quarter. Too much to handle tonight? Yes.
Quotes
Gordon Herbert: "Congratulations to Fener and the coach. I think we had a good first quarter, but we couldn't build on it. By the end of the first half, they went on a big run, and that obviously hurt us. They made easy baskets in the third quarter and had the momentum. We had fouls to give but didn’t capitalize on them. The positive thing is that we played hard and fought. But our defense in the second and third quarters really hurt us."
Devin Booker: "Due to a lack of communication, we lost focus before halftime. That allowed them to make some tough shots and take the momentum. During that phase, it was hard to control them. We need to learn from this and focus for 40 minutes. We just have to keep pushing. The first quarter was strong, and if we had kept playing like that, we would have won. But we lost concentration, and against a team like this, a few mistakes are enough to lose."
Upcoming Games
- Thursday, November 14, 8:30 PM: 10th EuroLeague game day, FCBB – Alba Berlin (SAP Garden)
- Sunday, November 17, 3:00 PM: 8th easyCredit BBL game day, FCBB – Telekom Baskets Bonn (BMW Park)
- Friday, November 22, 8:30 PM: 11th EuroLeague game day, FCBB – FC Barcelona (SAP Garden)
- Friday, November 29, 8:00 PM: 12th EuroLeague game day, Red Star Belgrade – FCBB
- Sunday, December 1, 6:00 PM: 9th BBL game day, FCBB – Rasta Vechta (BMW Park)