Anadolu Efes beats Fenerbahce Ulker 85-67 in TBL

Anadolu Efes

Anadolu Efes has been on a tear lately and his been knocking down some of the Turkish TBL’s top teams left and right. In back-to-back weeks they have handed the league’s top teams critical losses and are now reaping the rewards of their recent hard-earned success. Last week they edged out former league leader, Darussafaka Istanbul 73-72. This week they crushed Fenerbahce Ulker 85-67 to slip into the pole position despite sharing an identical 10-3 record. Now they are ones with the targets on their backs, but their tough road to the pinnacle of the standings lends credence to their being a foreboding opponent to face.

Expect the action to continually heat up as teams such as Fenerbahce Ulker (10-3), Besiktas (9-3), and Darussafaka (9-4) jockey for shots to claim the number one spot. All these clubs are laden with talented rosters and are fully capable of stringing together enough wins for that push to the top.

The clash between the league Titans was one for the books. Anadolu Efes had the stronger start, as they were still likely riding high on the momentum they garnered from last week. Both teams underwent a feeling out process in the first quarter as they got their bearings. The score was not too high in the first period, but the hosts emerged with a 19-12 advantage. True to form, Fenerbahce Ulker was not to be outdone too easily and came back strong in the second frame. Obradovic’s squad deftly culled the lead to three points as the scoring picked up. Efes was still up 44-41 at the halftime break.

Things changed in the second half. Anadolu Efes seized control of the game and Fenerbahce Ulker was on the defensive as they backpedalled in circles trying to stop the home team’s rally. Anadolu expanded on their lead and did not look back and ran off with the massive win.

Anadolu Efes employed a balanced offense to overcome a valiant, 20-point effort from Fener Ulker’s Jan Vesely. Stratos Perperoglou led Efes with 17 points. Cedi Osman scored 14 points and Matt Janning chipped in 13 points and five assists.

Nemanja Bjelica had an impressive performance for Fenerbahce Ulker, scoring 16 points and grabbing 16 rebounds.

 

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