A win in the Istanbul derby is the latest feat accomplished since the Lithuanian coach’s arrival.
Saras Jasikevicius appointment is already paying dividends for Fenerbahce
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There was a collective gasp among the European basketball community when Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul chose to part ways with head coach Dimitris Itoudis on December 13. Saras Jasikevicius was named as his successor one day later, and since then Fenerbahce has gone a perfect 4-0. So far, so good, you could say.
The last of those wins came on Thursday evening, as the Jasikevicius-led Fenerbahce leaned on a late surge to defeat cross-town rival Anadolu Efes Istanbul 84-89 in the Istanbul derby. That win was impressive in itself, as derby victories always are, but notably it improved Fenerbahce to a 10-7 record and saw it rise to fifth in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings.
Even more notable is the fact that Fenerbahce has now won back-to-back games on the road, having defeated ALBA Berlin 82-91 in Jasikevicius’s third game in charge. As surprising as the dismissal was of Coach Itoudis, with Fenerbahce having gone a perfect 5-0 at home, which included a memorable 100-99 overtime triumph against the previously unbeaten Real Madrid, the Turkish side was a dismal 1-7 on the road under the Greek tactician. A real Jekyll and Hyde sort of team.
Jasikevicius has brought consistency
What Jasikevicius has been able to achieve in his brief time back at the club he briefly played for in the 2010-11 season is bring a bit of consistency. For example, following Fenerbahce’s win against Real under Coach Itoudis, the team then went on to lose its next two games, which were on the road at Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz and FC Barcelona. Rather than put a run of results together, it was one step forward and two steps back.
It is still too early in Jasikevicius’s reign to comment too much on the playing style, but what is notable is the way in which some players have certainly played at a higher level since his arrival. In all four of his games on the Fenerbahce bench, the Lithuanian play-caller has opted for a starting backcourt of Nick Calathes and Scottie Wilbekin, and both have repaid his faith to this point.
Wilbekin averaged 16.7 points and 4.7 assists in the first three games under Jasikevicius, up from his previous averages of 12.6 points and 2.7 assists, but he had a relatively quiet night against Efes with 6 points. He did, however, match his season high for assists with 7.
Calathes became the hero at Efes
Calathes, meanwhile, has seen a major jump in his minutes and in Round 17 he stepped up big time on the offensive end, scoring 17 points, which is his highest tally since joining Fenerbahce in the summer of 2022. The veteran point guard was particularly clutch in the fourth quarter against Efes, which saw him earn plenty of plaudits afterward.
After netting a triple to give the visitors a 4-point lead, 78-82, with 3:44 minutes remaining, Calathes stepped up again by knocking down his second three-pointer of the quarter to put Fenerbahce up by 5, 82-87, with 29.6 seconds to go. That second make from beyond the arc led to a big celebration among the Fenerbahce players, as they knew the victory was all but secured.
The history between Jasikevicius and Calathes has been well documented, but there’s no denying that the No. 33 has been playing at his top level since the arrival of his former boss at FC Barcelona. They say that winning cures everything, and for Jasikevicius and Calathes it seems that each victory acts like the perfect remedy.
Despite going 4-0 through his first four games as Fenerbahce boss, Jasikevicius is not resting on his laurels and instead called for calm as he wants his team to learn from the Efes game, having trailed 52-47 at the break before winning the second half 32-42 en route to an 84-89 triumph.
“It’s important not to get carried away,” he stressed in the post-game flash interview. “I think we now have to focus on why we started so sluggish in such a big game, and we also have to understand what got us to play such a great second half. You always have to learn. Obviously, the positive is how we managed to leave them on 30 points in the second half in their gym.”
A chance to further rise up the standings
The good news for Fenerbahce is that its next four games are all at home, although its Round 19 clash against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv will take place in Lithuania following Turkish and Israel government recommendations.
Fenerbahce is 7-0 at Ulker Sports and Events Hall, with Jasikevicius contributing towards two of those wins after overseeing an 86-74 decision against AS Monaco and an 80-78 victory over Zalgiris Kaunas in his first two games in charge. Therefore, if Fenerbahce is able to maintain its perfect home record through the next four rounds, it would improve to a 14-7 mark and likely surge further up the standings.
All of that is hypothetical, of course, but with Fenerbahce playing as it has done in the early weeks of the Jasikevicius reign, it’s certainly imaginable. It has been just over two weeks since the Lithuanian’s appointment, but the results are already beginning to bear fruit.