The hosts erased an early 17-point deficit before going on to win by 15.
Fener's reserves sparked a major turnaround against Partizan
Άρθρο
3 Χρόνος Ανάγνωσης
Regular Season
Round 20 of 34
Regular Season
Fenerbahce Beko IstanbulFBB
9176
Partizan Mozzart Bet BelgradePAR
Overview
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Things were not looking good for Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in its Round 20 home game against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade when it fell behind early. Partizan had a strong start and led 19-31 at the end of the first quarter before extending its margin to 19-36 on a rainbow three-pointer by Jaleen Smith.
Head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius needed answers and found them off the bench, as his second unit allowed Fenerbahce to erase the deficit and seal a comfortable victory.
Tyler Dorsey made things happen in the second quarter. He scored his first points right after Partizan's biggest lead and was unstoppable from that moment. Dorsey had 11 second-quarter points to bring Fenerbahce much closer, 42-48, at halftime.
An unlikely star in Nate Sestina
Dorsey got plenty of help from Nate Sestina, who had been struggling to adjust to a new level in his first EuroLeague campaign. After averaging 1.8 points in 18 previous games, Sestina had 5 points in the second quarter and became Fenerbahce's X-factor.
"Personally, it's a great feeling. My teammates were helping me up, everybody told me to stay ready, Coach especially, and be prepared for your opportunities and when it presents itself, take advantage of it," Sestina said after the game. "Shout out of my teamamtes for continuing to encourage me and being great."
Sestina struck 3 times from beyond the arc in the third quarter, not allowing Partizan to increase its lead. James Nunnally seemed to give Partizan fresh air, giving his team a 58-62 lead late in the third quarter.
Dorsey had 10 points and another reserve, experienced combo guard Marko Guduric, added 8 more in a mammoth 24-2 run that broke the game open. Partizan was held scoreless for 5 minutes and a red-hot Dorsey seemed to hit every shot he took. After the game, it was revealed that he had extra motivation to play especially well in this game.
"I think we started defending. We got multiple stops in the second half and were able to flow on offense," Dorsey said. "I want to give a shot out to my newborn son, this is his first home game! I am excited to play well. I know he was sleeping, but I love him and I can't wait to go home and see him."
Dorsey made sure to praise Sestina, too: "Nate Sestina, I am happy for him. He shot the ball well tonight and did a lot of great things for us."
Coach Jasikevicius, meanwhile, stressed that a change of mentality was needed and name-checked Sestina and Dorsey for their great work in this comeback victory.
"Obviously, we didn't start with the right approach and we were playing a little bit like boys. Then we understood later that to win this type of game, you have to be physical, fight for every centimeter on the court. You have to play like men and throw your body around, and the guys were doing it," Jasikevicius said. "And of course, it helps a lot than in the offensive end, we found some guys who could hit the shots. I am especially happy for Nate [Sestina] in this situation, and Tyler [Dorsey] obviously was huge, so it was just a great comeback for us."
Dorsey finished the game with 24 points. Guduric added 15 and Sestina had a career-high 14 points. Fenerbahce grabbed its sixth victory in the last seven games to climb into the playoff zone at 12-8. Above all, it showed great consistency and having a deep roster in which everyone is ready to get his number called could make the difference in the most important stages of the season.