Barcelona rolls past Fenerbahce
Group E is where the action is during this season´s Euroleague Top 16, but Barcelona is proving unstoppable after gunning down Fenerbahce 93-73 at home.
The table is packed with giants of European Basketball including Panathinaikos and Olympiacos. However, Barcelona´s progress through the group has been nothing short of sensational as the Spanish club swept a resurgent Fenerbahce to one side. The team is now 9-0 at the top of the table and favorable results elsewhere on Friday could send Barca through to the next stage of the Euroleague.
Barcelona´s formidable form has left the other teams trailing in its wake, and the Spanish giant extended its Euroleague Top 16 record winning streak to 21 games. Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahce has been in rejuvenated form in recent weeks, but nothing could be done in this game to stop the Barca tide.
FC Barcelona vs. Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul, 93-73
First quarter
Ante Tomic has been in amazing form for Barcelona in recent weeks (getting him the MVP for February) and he opened the scoring for the hosts with two from the free throw line. Juan Carlos Navarro hit from downtown to give the Spanish club a solid start at 5-0. Blagota Sekulic started the scoring for the visitors with a two pointer but Tomic responded in kind. Navarro struck again, this time in response to a Bo McCalebb double, while Nemanja Bjelica and Emir Preldzic also hit for the Turkish club to make it 10-8. Tomic continued to pace Barcelona but Bojan Bogdanovic and McCalebb stepped up for Fenerbahce to give the Turkish team a slender 18-19 lead after 10 minutes.
Second quarter
Joey Dorsey opened the second quarter with 2 from the line and a two pointer to snatch the lead back for Barcelona at 22-18. The home team capped off a 7-0 run at the start of the period from an all net treble from Jacob Pullen (25-18). McCalebb took the first basket for Fener in the second, but Dorsey dunked unchallenged to keep Barca in charge. The Spanish team kept an advantage throughout the 10 minutes and Tomic was proving unplayable at times, but the Croatian center missed for the first time and Bogdanovic nailed from beyond the arc for the away team. That setback could not stop Barcelona´s charge though as Brad Oleson closed the first half for the team, putting the score at 45-38.
Third quarter
The Catalan hosts were in the groove and opened the third with yet another mini run, this time courtesy of Navarro with a triple and a couple of free throws. The veteran´s plays made it a double digit game for the first time and a Bostjan Nachbar dunk widened the gap at 52-38. Fenerbahce´s attack was crumbling and Barca kept turning over the ball and hitting on the counter. Midway through the third quarter the score was 59-40 and Barcelona had outscored the visitors 14 points to 2. There was no response to Barcelona´s attack and Fenerbahce capped a terrible third by securing just 10 points during the period (64-48).
Fourth quarter
The scoring took off in the last stanza as Erazem Lorbek and Preldzic traded nets from beyond the arc. Barcelona kept grabbing turnover ball (17 turnovers in the game) and kept dishing out assists (23 to 13) while the team also kept outscoring from triple range. The game had long become a formality and Barcelona saw out what proved to be a very comfortable second half and claimed an impressive win.
Ante Tomic truly paced the Barcelona win by scoring 17 points in the first half on his way to a 19 point haul. Nachbar secured 13 points and was 100% on the night, while Jacob Pullen and Juan Carlos Navarro took 12 points each.
Nemanja Bjelica led Fenerbahce with 15 points and 10 rebounds for an impressive double-double. There were four other players in double figures for the Turkish club, Bo McCalebb, Pierre Jackson and Bojan Bogdanovic scored 11 points each, while Linas Kleiza hit 10.