Anadolu Efes deny Fenerbahce's comeback to claim the Presidential Cup / News - Basketnews.com
Anadolu Efes dominated on both sides of the court in the first half and then denied Fenerbahce's comeback efforts en route to the Presidential Cup trophy.
Credit: TRT Spor Credit TRT SporThe duo of Vasilije Micic and Ante Zizic dominated on both sides of the court as Anadolu Efes Istanbul beat Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 71-62 (23-15, 19-8, 12-13, 15-24) to capture the Presidential Cup trophy.
Efes immediately got off to a better start with an 8-2 run to begin the match. With half of the first quarter played, Ergin Ataman's squad already led by 10 (16-6).
Although Fenerbahce managed to cut the deficit down to five (20-25), Efes ended the first half with a dominant 17-1 run to establish dominance after the first 20 minutes (42-23).
The third quarter did not change the main picture, and Fenerbahce went into the final 10 minutes down by 18 (36-54).
Dimitris Itoudis' team tried to mount a comeback and even narrowed the deficit down to seven (57-64) with two minutes left, Efes played the end of the game more solidly, and Ergin Ataman's men captured the first trophy of the year.
Carsen Edwards, Tonye Jekiri, Devin Booker, and Nemanja Bjelica were not registered for the match on the Fenerbahce roster, while Achille Polonara, Elijah Bryant, Tibor Pleiss, and Bryant Dunston also didn't play due to the foreign player limit for Efes. Shane Larkin is still in rehab after surgery on his wrist.
Ergin Ataman heavily relied on the starting five throughout the majority of the match. Before the start of the fourth quarter, all Efes' Turkish players, neither one of which was included in the starting five, had played as many minutes as Metecan Birsen played for Fenerbahce at that point.
Each member of Efes' starting five played at least 34 minutes. Through the first three quarters, Scottie Wilbekin had shot only one shot for Fenerbahce, missing the lone three-pointer.
Ante Zizic led Efes with 22 points on 8-for-10 shooting and 5 rebounds for 25 PIR. Vasilije Micic added 16 points on 4-for-14 shooting and 9 assists. Will Clyburn contributed with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Nigel Hayes-Davis was the leading scorer in Fenerbahce with 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting.
Fenerbahce: Nigel Hayes-Davis 13 (5/5 2PT), Marko Guduric 10 (2/6 3PT).
Efes: Ante Zizic 22 (8/10 2PT, 6/7 FT, 5 REB, 25 PIR), Vasilije Micic 16 (1/5 2PT, 3/9 3PT, 5/5 FT, 9 AST), Will Clyburn 14 (3/6 2PT, 2/5 3PT, 10 REB), Rodrigue Beaubois 11 (1/5 2PT, 2/5 3PT, 7 AST).
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