Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul grabbed a 2-0 lead in the Turkish finals and AS Monaco advanced to the finals in France with wins on Thursday.
Domestic leagues: Big wins for Fenerbahce, Monaco
Fenerbahce takes 2-0 lead in Turkish finals
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul dominated Anadolu Efes Istanbul 93-78 to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five Turkish League finals series. Jan Vesely tallied 18 points and 8 rebounds and Marko Guduric also scored 18 for the winners. Tarik Biberovic added 17 points, Nando De Colo had 16 and Devin Booker 13. Elijah Bryant paced Efes in defeat with 19 points, Bugrahan Tuncer scored 12 and Shane Larkin 10.
Vesely scored twice as Fenerbahce jumped to a 9-2 start, but Efes heated up later in the quarter. The visitors finished the first quarter with 7 straight points, including a three by Vasilije Micic in the final second, to lead 18-20 after 10 minutes. It was all Fenerbahce after that; Guduric scored 9 straight points that triggered an 18-0 run. The hosts coasted to a 54-32 halftime advantage and the outcome was never in doubt in the second half.
Monaco advances to French finals
AS Monaco held off a late Pau-Lacq-Orthez rally to win Game 4 of their best-of-five series 83-85 and advance to the French finals. Monaco will face LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in the finals. Mike James led the way with 21 points, Will Thomas scored 15 and Donta Hall and Leo Westermann added 12 apiece. Westermann also dished 6 assists. Brandon Jefferson scored a game-high 34 points and dished 5 assists in defeat and Justin Bibbins added 16.
Jefferson and Vitalis Chikoko helped Pau to an early 12-5 lead and, despite the best efforts of James and Hall, it was 26-20 after 10 minutes. Thomas heated up in the second quarter before James gave Monaco the lead, which it held 40-45 at the break. Ibrahima Fall Faye scored half the points in a 0-8 run to open the second half and the lead swelled to 45-63. It was 53-68 through three quarters. Jefferson led Pau’s fourth-quarter comeback and his dunk got his team within 81-83 with a minute to go. Pau had the last shot, but Jefferson missed and Monaco was able to celebrate.