More than a semifinal: Fenerbahce and Galatasaray renew rivalry for the Cup / News - Basketnews.com
Credit Tolga Adanali - Getty Images, FIBA | BasketNews illustration The Turkish Cup will bring an eternal rivalry once again to the table: Fenerbahce Beko and Galatasaray NEF will play in Bursa to grab a ticket for the Turkish Cup finals.
3-pointers this season
33%7,5Points made:7,5Accuracy:33,1%Place in standings:16Record max:15Record min:3Most made 3FGs:Marko GuduricTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule"One of our pre-season goals was to be here. We achieved our first goal," said Galatasaray head coach Ekrem Memnun in the pre-game press conference.
"We represent a club. I think everyone has an equal chance to win the trophy. We will do our best and fight in the best possible way. I think we prepared well for the match.
First of all, if we win, we will look at the final. We want to win the trophy as much as anyone else. In these types of tournaments, what matters is to give your best at the right time and right spot," he added.
Memnun is not unfamiliar with big games with Galatasaray, by any means.
In the late 90s and early 2000s, he led the Galatasaray women's basketball team into unchartered territories and pioneered European glory. After his comeback in 2012, the Galatasaray women team regained the domestic as well as the EuroLeague titles within two seasons, both in the finals against Fenerbahce.
Needless to say, games between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce are always big, regardless of the context. It is way beyond "one sport or one competition". The upcoming encounter does not mean any lesser than the usual for both sides.
"Our rival Galatasaray is also one of the most prestigious teams in basketball. We will prepare for the next match with this in mind. We just have to be ourselves and play our own game," underlines Sasha Djordjevic, the head coach of Fenerbahce.
As a person who experienced incredible rivalries like Red Star-Partizan or Barcelona-Real Madrid in his playing days, or Olympiacos-Panathinaikos in his coaching tenure, Djordjevic approaches the matter calmly.
His recent coaching history has its ups and downs from time to time, and his position at Fenerbahce was questioned as early as November.
But he came to Turkey as a winner of the Italian League finals, with Virtus Bologna against AX Armani Exchange Milan. Winning a Turkish Cup to the tally will surely further boost his credentials for the fans.
"We are proud to be here," Djordjevic said. "There isn't much to say. In my opinion, no result can be considered a surprise in Cup tournaments. Tomorrow we will play only one game, and it will be a very important match for us."
As mentioned above, this game should be understood in a wider context.
Galatasaray are having big troubles in the football department as they struggle to get away from the relegation zone. Amid that crisis atmosphere, the club administration decided to part ways with their legendary coach, Fatih Terim.
The fans are by no means familiar with this alarming situation and urgently need some consolation.
Usually, in situations like these, glory basketball comes to the rescue. It was the same for Zeljko Obradovic-led Fenerbahce. Their domination in the EuroLeague was a bright way through for the fans for those colorless seasons in football without much delight.
Besides, Galatasaray is well behind their biggest rivals in basketball in their recent history. They had a remarkable EuroLeague season with Oktay Mahmuti in 2012 (reaching Top 16).
Later on, Ergin Ataman led them to the Turkish League trophy in 2013, the EuroLeague playoffs in 2014, and the EuroCup glory in 2016.
However, they succumbed to the big investments of Fenerbahce, who thrived under Obradovic's charismatic leadership. Since 2015, Fenerbahce are 14-5 in the last 19 meetings.
Galatasaray's last win was 2 years ago in Ulker Sports Arena (80-75).
Considering all this background, a win against Fenerbahce that could lift Galatasaray into the Cup finals in basketball will surely send the fans in a mode of excitement.
"I trust my team, the club's culture, history. We want to put up a very good fight," says Menmun. "Fenerbahce are a very good and high-quality team with players who can make a difference right away."
"Instead of paying attention to one thing, in particular, attention should be paid to everything," he continued.
The history of the competition also carries the stamp of this great rivalry. Although Fenerbahce won the first edition of the Turkish Cup, Galatasaray exerted domination with victories in 1970 and 1972 and also with a final in 1969.
But after that, their only trophy in the competition was in 1994-95.
Fenerbahce, on the other hand, is the two-time defending champions. They played three finals throughout the 90s but lost to Efes (two times) and Tofas. However, after 2010, it is an entirely different story.
Out of 11 possible finals, Fenerbahce took part in 7 of them and won 6 times, famously against their eternal rivals in 2012-13 as well. It was the only time they met in the Cup final.
Regarding the recent form, the odds will be on the Fenerbahce's side. Djordjevic's side is on a 6-game winning run and also lost only once in their last 10 games, against Efes 71-91 in the domestic league.
They somehow managed to create improvised solutions to compensate for the long-term absence of Nando De Colo and Jan Vesely with the remarkable leadership of Marko Guduric as well as significant side support with the likes of Ismet Akpinar and Melih Mahmutoglu.
"I am very pleased with the competitive identity we have demonstrated and developed as a team this season," Djordjevic notes on this point.
"I believe that Captain Melih and his teammates show this in every match. We don't like to lose, and we want to win, and I think the first of these outweighs, especially in moments like this. We do not like to lose, and therefore we have this spirit," he added.
Coincidentally, both Ismet and Melih had their best games when Fenerbahce played the last two games in Bursa.
Against Frutti Extra Bursaspor, Akpinar scored 19 points, including five clutch 3-pointers.
The same goes for Mahmutoglu, who stepped up to salvage Fenerbahce from 20 points deficit against Tofas, scoring a season-high 27 points.
"We attach great importance to the Turkish Cup, and we want to win, "noted Mahmutoglu.
"Tofas game was tough for us, but in the end, we managed to stay in the Final Four by winning. Tomorrow, there is a very special match, a derby match. It is a very valuable and special match for us."
Galatasaray's recent run was not equally impressive, far from it.
Before the much-needed away win in the Turkish Cup quarterfinals, they lost five games out of six in all competitions. That game against Gaziantep was only their second win in a month.
Certainly, the Covid-19 crisis played a big role in that. Due to their ongoing multiple positive cases, Galatarasaray appealed to the federation before the Efes game just to be turned down according to the current regulations.
The win against Gaziantep gave a glimmer of hope to the fans. Their offensive abilities are easy to observe as they are 3rd best offensive team of TBL (1.04 per possession). Still, defensive integrity appears as a particular problem of Galatasaray, as they held an opponent to a mere 0.84 points per possession. (their season average against all opponents: 0,96).
Besides, Galatasaray probably will get their star guard Melo Trimble back.
Trimble had to miss the quarterfinals due to food poisoning and could not take in any further practices, but Memnun is hopeful about his prospects of being on the court.
Besides, Galatasaray are expected to have their other heavy guns - Maurice Ndour, Dee Bost, and Kerry Blackshear - despite some minor injuries.
The cup semifinals could be the end of a dark tunnel.
"The Turkish Cup is very important to us. We have had very good form since the beginning of the year. The Gaziantep match was not easy, but we made it to the Final Four," as Goksenin Koksal said.
"Fenerbahce matches are always special for us. A derby match. We need to get our fans behind us. Fenerbahce are a really good team, but we came here to get the trophy." he added.
In their only meeting this season, Fenerbahce overcame Galatasaray, despite their stall in the 3rd quarter and the beginning of the 4th quarter, where they allowed their opponents to make a +17 rally.
But once again, their famous stifling defense at death came into action as De Colo steered Fenerbahce with some big buckets.
Jan Vesely and Nando De Colo are still missing, but the injury situation gets somewhat less severe for Fenerbahce Beko.
Sehmus Hazer, who is having a great breakthrough season in EuroLeague, is available again after missing the game against Tofas. Likewise, Jehyve Floyd is also on the roster alongside another recent addition, Markel Starks.
We should keep in mind that this is only a semifinal and the Cup is still two games away for both teams. Both with a quick assessment of both teams' fans before the game, it is not to understand that this is a huge game for both sides.
Long story in short: Buckle your seatbelt and enjoy!
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