Both the Serbian side and Fenerbahce now sit on 1-2 records after three rounds
Crvena Zvezda used 'amazing effort' to stun the champs in Istanbul
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 3 of 38
Regular Season
Fenerbahce Beko IstanbulFBB
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Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet BelgradeCZV
Overview
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Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade pulled off the first major shock of the new EuroLeague season on Friday night. The team came to Istanbul winless, severely depleted by injuries, a day removed from parting ways with its head coach and with an interim debutant on the bench, all while playing on the road against the reigning champion.
However, Crvena Zvezda never trailed en route to an 81-86 win over Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, which marked its third consecutive road win at Ulker Sports and Events Hall.
It was far from pretty and it involved drama in the final minutes as Fenerbahce rallied. But a win is a win – the first of the season in all competitions for the team from the Serbian capital, in fact.
“I feel that’s the type of game we needed just to know what it feels like to win, and know we have enough to win,” said Chima Moneke, one of the heroes in the victory. “We are still dealing with injuries, but I am proud of how we fought and how resilient we were.”
Moneke had a double-double and came up huge late in the fourth quarter. With Fenerbahce cutting it to 69-72 after Bonzie Colson nailed a third of his four fourth-quarter three-pointers, Moneke answered right back with a three of his own, his only triple of the night, with 2:35 to go.
Then, on the ensuing Fenerbahce possession, Moneke blocked Mikael Jantunen, flexed his muscles toward the Zvezda bench, then grabbed an offensive rebound on the other end of the floor. Just 30 seconds later, he scored again, racing for a layup after helping his teammates solve Fenerbahce’s full-court pressure.
But for all those late-game heroics, Moneke was prouder of another one of his feats – a double-double. After collecting a combined 24 points and 14 rebounds in the first two rounds, Moneke almost matched that output against the defending champs with a 20-point, 12-rebound performance, while also delivering 2 blocks.
“I am 1.96 [meters]. My whole career people have told me he is ‘this but’, ‘he is too short’. They can’t measure the heart that I have,” Moneke said in a EuroLeague TV interview after the game.
“I feel like I’m the best rebounder in Europe and I pride myself on rebounding at all times. That’s what I care about the most. So, anytime I am able to get double-double with rebounds, I am proud of that. I am proud of us. We had great contribution from everybody, and it feels good.”
Another one of the major contributors for Zvezda was Donatas Motiejunas, who has joined on loan from Monaco, where he sat out the first two rounds. Against Fenerbahce, the big man played his first minutes of the season, but that did not stop him from collecting 13 points and 6 rebounds in less than 15 minutes on the floor.
Motiejunas arrived at the club in a turbulent moment, not even playing a single game for coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos who brought him in. And the veteran center spoke very realistically after a win.
“In these type of situations, usually two things happen. Either you get united or you get separated. I am happy that we united,” he said before also adding:
“We beat Fenerbahce on the road, that’s an amazing achievement. But at the same time, this effort we showed today has to be a bottom line how we have to play. There are gonna be some games where we gonna make shots, miss shots, but if we are gonna show the effort we showed today, I am pretty sure we are gonna win more than we are gonna lose.”
The effort is also what the interim head coach Tomislav Tomovic underlined:
“We did a great job as a team. We showed some amazing reaction, amazing effort, amazing toughness and hustle.”
On the other hand, Fenerbahce has also dropped to 1-2 record with its second straight loss. There's no hiding the fact it was a disappointing performance from coach Sarunas Jasikevicius men.
Zvezda opened a 16-point lead, its largest of the night, in the final minute of the first half before Tarik Biberovic's buzzer-beating triple made it 30-43 at the break.
Of Fenerbahce’s first-half performance, perhaps the best example to demonstrate its sub-par display was the fact that of the 27 points it scored before Biberovic’s triple, 18 came from the free-throw line. The hosts had 10 turnovers, made 5-of-24 field goals, and even managed to miss 8 free throws in the first half alone.
Zvezda, which showed great hustle but also struggled offensively, missed its first 9 three-pointers and had 9 turnovers, but it still managed to open – and maintain – a double-digit margin into the third quarter, when Fenerbahce started to rally.
Tyson Carter helped Zvezda to victory with 15 points, while Talen Horton-Tucker and Bonzie Colson scored 19 apiece for the hosts, with Colson netting 15 of his in the second half.
