Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul is the Turkish League champion! Fenerbahce downed Anadolu Efes Istanbul 80-92 in Game 4 of the finals. In Spain, Real Madrid defeated FC Barcelona 75-88 in Game 1 of the finals.
Domestic leagues: Fenerbahce lifts Turkish League trophy!
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Turkey: Fenerbahce is the new champion!
Fenerbahce lifted the Turkish League trophy for the 10th time - and for the first time since 2018, getting a 3-1 victory in the best-of-five series. Jan Vesely led the winners with 18 points on 9-of-10 two-point shots. Nando De Colo added 17, Marko Guduric had 16 while Melih Mahmutoglu got 13 for Fenerbahce, which outrebounded its opponent by 22-34. Chris Singleton and Tibor Pleiss led Efes with 17 points apiece. Vasilije Micic, Elijah Bryant and Shane Larkin each added 10 for the reigning back-to-back Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion.
Tarik Biberovic got Fenerbahce started with a three-poiny play and Vesely added a couple of jumpers for a 6-9 lead. Pierria Henry struck from downtown, then Guduric had 8 points in an 0-9 run that boosted the guests' lead to 10-24 late in the first quarter. Bryant Dunston and Singleton tried to change things for Efes, bringing their team within 19-30. Larkin stepped up from Efes, joining forces with Pleiss to give the hosts hope, 35-41, at halftime. Singleton struck from beyond the arc to make it a one-point game, 42-43, soon after the break. De Colo, Vesely and Henry gave Fenerbahce fresh air, 50-57, soon after that. The guests found a new go-to guy Melih Mahmutoglu, who helped his team regain a 61-70 margin after 30 minutes. Devin Booker followed an alley-oop slam with a jumper that made it a 13-point game, 68-81, and Fenerbahce never looked back in the final 6 minutes.
Spain: Real wins finals opener
Real Madrid stole the home-court advantage in the Spanish League finals by downing FC Barcelona 75-88 in Game 1 at Palau Blaugrana on Monday. Real has a 1-0 lead in the series. Barca hosts Game 2 on Wednesday. Gabriel Deck led the winners with 18 points. Adam Hanga added 16 - all in the first half, in which Real made the difference in the game. Fabien Causeur had 15 and Guerschon Yabusele 11 for Los Blancos, which were without head coach Pablo Laso and lost Anthony Randolph to a knee injury midway through the game. Nicolas Laprovittola led Barca with 15 points. Nikola Mirotic added 13 and Kyle Kuric 12 for the hosts.
Mirotic followed a layup with a triple to give Barca an early 5-0 lead. Causeur stepped up with 8 quick points to put Real ahead, 11-16. Yabusele and Hanga each struck from downtown, Juan Nuñez found his first points and Alberto Abalde hit a high-arching floater to boost the guests' margin to 17-30 after 10 minutes. Rudy Fernandez hit a three-pointer off the dribble and fed Walter Tavares for an alley-oop dunk. Hanga kept pacing Los Blancos and Vincent Poirier soon made it a 20-point game, 29-49, near halftime. Rolands Smits and Mirotic gave Barca hope, 45-59, soon after the break. Deck and Jeffery Taylor stepped up for Real, then Yabusele boosted his team's margin to 51-74 late in the third quarter. Rokas Jokubaitis and Rolands Smits fueled a 12-0 run that gave Barca hope, 63-74. Deck stepped up in crunch time, making Real seal the outcome long before the final buzzer.