Djordjevic dissapointed with poor first half: 'Yesterday’s practice was more intense' / News - Basketnews.com

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After losing in the Cup final against Anadolu Efes, Fenerbahce Beko could not overcome 22 points deficit in the Euroleague matchup and lost the regular-season series 0-2 against their city rivals.

Player of the Game EFF 23 Vasilije Micic Points 24 Accuracy 7-14 Rebounds 2 Assists 3

This was the 4th time in a row that Anadolu Efes won against Fenerbahce Beko this season, out of their last 5 matchups.

"Congrats to Efes. We entered the game with too much respect against this kind of team. If you want to be competitive at this level, this must not have happened in the first half," head coach Sasha Djordjevic lamented.

"Even yesterday's practice was more intense than today's first half."

Despite the double-digit deficit, Fenerbahce started to fight adamantly to make an epic comeback, starting with the 3rd quarter.

With the firm guidance of Dyshawn Pierre, who scored 16 of his 19 points, and Sehmus Hazer, who stepped up with his defense and added 13 points to it, Efes' lead was cut down to 1 with 3 minutes remaining.

"In the second half, we came back with pride, some good execution, getting things done with open shots. We played with a fanatic effort, which I expect from my players because I made some talks and pushed some provocations after the first half in the locker room," he explained.

Fenerbahce's comeback efforts were eventually thwarted by Shane Larkin's fumble-fake, where he almost lost control of the ball against Devin Booker's markup. Eventually, his mistake on the dribble helped him to get away from the defender to make an incredible dagger.

"Larkin's shot late in the game was perhaps the most difficult shot of the year," Djordjevic admitted. "There were also some big individual plays from Beaubois, too."

Shane Larkin reached his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 assists, whereas Vasilje Micic (24) and Rodrigue Beaubois (20) duo scored more than a half Efes points.

Fenerbahce Istanbul / Schedule

Monaco Basket Fenerbahce Istanbul92-78 Crvena Zvezda Belgrade Fenerbahce Istanbul74-69 Anadolu Efes Istanbul Fenerbahce Istanbul84-79 Fenerbahce Istanbul CSKA Moscow03-1017:45

In fact, the French swingman's three-pointer with 0.7 seconds left on the clock in the 3rd quarter proved more decisive than it first seemed.

"It hurts the same when you lose the game, may it be by 30 points, or may it be after a comeback like this. I don't like losing," Djordjevic reflected.

"We saw two different Fenerbahce teams in two halves. That is something we need to overcome for the next games that are coming up. We must be proud of how we played in the 3rd and 4th quarters.

That is the way we play. We fight. But games are being played for 40 minutes. We need some consistency in that sense. I am not even satisfied after victories, and after the losses, I don't like that at all," the Serbian coach added.

This is Fenerbahce's third loss in a row after losing Pierria Henry to injury in the Turkish Cup semi-final.

"Pierria Henry set our defensive tone for the whole year. He characterizes our defensive effort," said Djordjevic.

"But he is not the only one missing from our starting 5. Jan Vesely is still out, Nando de Colo has returned but did not have much time for practicing. Of course, these are not excuses, but we need a little bit more time for nursing these injuries."

After last night's loss against Efes, Fenerbahce fell below 50% wins with 12-13, after finding themselves 11th place in the standings.

However, they might have some thinner schedule for the next 20 days, as their upcoming games against CSKA on the 10th and 18th of March against Zenit are not expected to be played.

Their next game will be against Bayern, on the 15th of March.

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