Eldo
Napoli kept its Top 16 dream alive by rallying from 15 points behind to
top direct Group C rival Fenerbahce Ulker 88-93 in overtime on the road
in Istanbul on Thursday. Napoli hero Tyrone Ellis sent the game to OT
with free throws and then hit the triple that helped the guests start
overtime with an amazing 0-11 run. The stakes were high. Napoli
improves to 6-7 to tie with Pau-Orthez and Aris TT Bank for fourth
place. A win at home against Benetton in the last regular season game
assures Napoli a spot in the Top 16. Fenerbahce, meanwhile, fell to 5-8
and is virtually eliminated because it can win only one in-group
tiebreak possibility now and owuld need help outside the group, as
well. Ellis finished with 29 points, buried 6 of 7 triples and dished 5
assists. He helped rally Napoli from a 35-20 deficit in the second
quarter to its first tie in the third. He got major help from Michel
Morandais, who finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds. Ansu Sesay
added 12 points for the winnters. For Fenerbahce, Ibrahim Kutluay had
17 points, Damir Mrsic and Kaspars Kambala 14 each, Eddie Basden 13 and
Will Solomon 11.
Fenerbahce won the opening tip and seconds
later Kambala scored the game's opening points. Napoli was quickly on
the board as well after Jim Larranaga'a triple. Kambala made his
presence felt in the paint, scoring and drawing fouls as the hosts
pushed ahead. Badsen drilled a triple that made it 15-7. Back-to-back
baskets by Morandais and Sesay kept Napoli in the hunt, but Kambala
capped a 9-2 spurt with a three-point play that pushed his personal
count to 13 points in 8 minutes for a 24-13 Fenerbahce lead. Ellis hit
a bucket for Napoli, but Fenerbahce played fast and aggressive on
offense as Kambala visited the free throw line and soon, after a three
missed by Valerio Spinelli, Solomon fed Ira Clark for a dunk that
closed the first quarter with a clear 29-16 edge for the hosts.
In
the second period, Fenerbahce controlled the game as a Kutluay jumper
in the 13th minute made the score 35-20. Napoli then refreshed its game
by increasing the pressure on defense. Matteo Malaventura's
three-pointer followed by another from Ellis reduced the difference to
9 points. Solomon replied with a three of his own, but Ellis answered
immediately to make it 38-29. Key offensive rebounds gave Napoli second
chances to score and another Ellis basket closed the gap to 44-36.
Solomon used the last ball for the home team skillfully and hit a
triple with 3 seconds on the clock to put Fenerbahce ahead 47-36 at the
halftime.
 Napoli
played far more motivated defense in the third quarter and went to work
in the paint, while Fenerbahce started firing up shots from long
distance in panic as the visitors closed the gap minute by minute.
Ellis scored two straight three-pointers to cut the difference to
50-46. The home team lost control of the game when Ellis hit another
three and Richard Rocca scored two free throws after a Mirsad Turkcan
foul to give Napoli a 50-51 lead. Alessandro Cittadini continued the
visitors' momentum with a layup, after which Fenerbahce awoke. Mrsic's
three and two free throws by Kutluay restored the Fenerbahce lead, but
Napoli was also on fire. Sesay's three plus Morandais's free throws
swung the lead back to Eldo. Clark's slam and another Mrsic triple gave
Fenerbahce a 60-58 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Napoli
kept Fenerbahce scoreless nearly for three minutes at the beginning of
the last quarter. A single free throw from Cittadini paired with a
three pointer from Jeff Trepagnier at regained the lead for Napoli at
60-62. Turkcan scored his first points with a layup to tie the game and
then Mrsic hit another three from the left corner to make it 65-62.
Rocca's basket plus free throw tied it again midway through the fourth
quarter. Turkcan drilled a three for Fener, but Ellis's free throws
kept it close. Trepagnier tied the game once more at 71-71 with a
minute left. Mrsic penetrated to give the hosts a 2-point lead, but
Ellis replied with free throws as Solomon fouled out with 42 seconds to
go. Mrsic missed a three pointer with 19 tics on the clock and
Trepagnier missed the last chance to win it before overtime.
Napoli
raced out with the first 11 points of overtime to put the game away.
Ellis opened the scoring for the visitors with a triple and Morandais
had another a minute later to make it 73-79. Kambala picked up his
fifth foul while trying to defend the star of the game, Ellis, who
added 2 free throws as Fenerbahce started to look lost. Then Sesar hit
a three-pointer from the corner to complete the run. Fenerbahce tried
to make a comeback, but things didn't work well. Rasim Basak's free
throws made it 78-84 and then a steal gave the home fans hope, but
Basden missed a three-pointer and Eldo made its free throws to seal the
88-93 victory.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Gokhan Ture, Istanbul
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