Preseason: Istanbul success in Dogus Basketball Tournament
Preseason action headed to Zagreb, Croatia on Thursday evening and it proved to be a fruitful night for Turkish teams. Indeed, the city of Istanbul was the big winner as Fenerbahce and Darassafaka both represented the city and won.
The teams were competing in the Zadar Dogus Basketball Tournament. Fenerbahce’s effort saw the team down Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar in deadly fashion, claiming an 88-67 victory. Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul eased past tournament hosts KK Zadar 69-88 in the other contest.
Fenerbahce Istanbul vs. Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar, 88-67
Fenerbache’s preseason has been hit and miss, but the team clicked here to claim victory. Last season’s Euroleague runner up is looking to go one better this term and is among the best equipped rosters in Europe. However, Lokomotiv is capable of providing a stern test to any team. The Russians were uncharacteristically flaky in the contest, though, allowing Fenerbahce an easy win.
All-Euroleague players from 2016 stepped up for the Turkish club. Jan Vesely led the charge with 15 points, followed by a rounded Ekpe Udoh performance of 13 points and 8 assists, while Luigi Datome drained 12 points. The Turkish champs were 20-6 up early in the game and never looked back. By the halftime buzzer the score was 53-37 and Lokomotiv was unable to rally in the second half.
The Russian team was paced by Kevin Jones with 23 points.
KK Zadar vs. Darussafaka Istanbul, 88-67
Dogus Basketball Tournament hosts, KK Zadar, could not use home court advantage to claim a win in front of its home fans. Darussafaka was just too strong in the front court and looked slick through some classy offensive plays. Adrien Moerman shone in the win with a fantastic 23 points haul. Dairis Bertans was also hot, especially from downtown as he made 5-of-6 from beyond the arc on his way to 15 points.
The Turkish club turned on the heat in the second quarter, pouring in 33 points to assure a 32-56 advantage through the long break. The second half proved to be a cruise. Scottie Wilbekin finished with 11 points and 6 assists, while Marcus Slaughter was good for 10 points. Furkan Aldemir missed out on a double-double with his 9 points and 9 rebounds.
Mislav Brzoja topped Zadar with 15 points.