Better late than never for Vezenkov
Towards the end of the third quarter of Wednesday’s Game 3 playoff battle between Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and Olympiacos Piraeus, Sasha Vezenkov was struggling. Struggling badly.
The leading candidate for this season’s EuroLeague MVP award was suffering a bad night and asked to be substituted after throwing up an ugly and horribly off target long-range air ball as part of his Olympiacos team’s inability to score more than 8 points in the quarter. As he sat down on the bench, shouting angrily and pounding his hands against the advertising boards in a fit of frustration, it seemed like Vezenkov might be forced to endure a rare off night as his team fell behind in the series.
But great players don’t give up easily and, after cooling down, Vezenkov came back into the game in the fourth quarter to play a crucial role in his team’s remarkable 71-72 victory. His return to prominence started midway through the period, scoring consecutive baskets – his first points of the second half – to cap a 0-10 run and give Olympiacos control.
That wasn’t enough to secure victory, though, as Fenerbahce roared back with its own 9-2 run to take the lead, 69-66, in the final minute. Vezenkov again stepped up, netting a deep three with 48 seconds remaining to tie the game, meaning he scored 8 of his total 17 points in the last 4 minutes of the game. And when Marko Guduric then gave Fenerbahce a seemingly decisive lead with 3 seconds on the clock, Vezenkov’s last contribution was of a more selfless nature, setting a perfect pick to give Kostas Sloukas the necessary space to drain his sensational game-winning buzzer-beater.
After the game, Vezenkov acknowledged his mid-game dip and just how desperate he was to put that right, saying: "I was not good in the third quarter, I did not play good and that’s why I asked for a sub to relax my mind and see how I could help my team. I was ready, and I was thinking all this time that I have to help my team. I need to be there."
And when it truly mattered, he really was there.