May 25, 2013
Top 16 Game 6 - March 19, 2008 CET: 20:15 Local time: 21:15 - ABDI IPEKÇI SPORTS HALL
Fenerbahce Ulker 75 - 59 Tau Ceramica

Records

Ave.   Ave.
0-0 Final Four 0-0
0-0 Playoffs 0-0
2-3 Top 16 5-0
6-8 Regular Season 9-5
8-11 Overall 14-5

Referees

Crew Chief
LAMONICA, LUIGI, Italy
Referee
CICORIA, GIANPAOLO, Italy
Umpire
VOJINOVIC, MILIJA, Serbia

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
79.2 Points 85.3
31.6 Rebounds 32.5
9.7 O. Rebounds 9.4
21.9 D. Rebounds 23.2
12.2 Assists 14.2
8.9 Steals 8.5
3.7 Blocks 2.4
14.1 Turnovers 12.6
52.6 % 2PT 57.8 %
36.9 % 3PT 39.6 %
66.9 % FT 71.9 %
80.2 Index 93.9
Team Stats - Fenerbahce Ulker
Team Stats - Tau Ceramica

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
18.1 / SOLOMON, WILLIE Points 14.2 / SPLITTER, TIAGO
9.3 / TURKCAN, MIRSAD Rebounds 5.2 / SPLITTER, TIAGO
2.7 / ASIK, OMER OR 1.7 / SPLITTER, TIAGO
6.5 / TURKCAN, MIRSAD DR 3.7 / TELETOVIC, MIRZA
4.1 / SOLOMON, WILLIE Assists 4.2 / PRIGIONI, PABLO
1.7 / SOLOMON, WILLIE Steals 1.5 / PRIGIONI, PABLO
2.4 / ASIK, OMER Blocks 0.8 / SPLITTER, TIAGO
2.9 / SOLOMON, WILLIE Turnovers 2.2 / PRIGIONI, PABLO
59.3 % / ASIK, OMER 2PT 63.0 % / SPLITTER, TIAGO
47.1 % / MRSIC, DAMIR 3PT 48.6 % / Jasaitis
100.0 % / MRSIC, DAMIR FT 92.9 % / PRIGIONI, PABLO
18.7 / SOLOMON, WILLIE Index 16.4 / SPLITTER, TIAGO
Team Roster - Fenerbahce Ulker
Team Roster - Tau Ceramica

THE TAKE

Fenerbahce Ulker aims to earn a spot in the Quarterfinal Playoffs when it hosts Tau Ceramica in the Top 16, Group E finale on Wednesday at the Ibdi Ipekci Sports Hall in Istanbul. While Tau, the only remaining undefeated team in the Top 16, has already clinched first place in the group and with it home-court advantage in the best-of-three playoffs, Fener is in a dogfight with two other teams, Lietuvos Rytas and Aris TT Bank for the remaining quarterfinal ticket. The Turkish champs’ destiny is in its own hands, since a win will send head coach Bogdan Tanjevic’s troops through. However if Fener, which is only 4-5 at home this season, loses, then it will turn to the simultaneous game between L. Rytas and Aris and pray that Aris wins by between 6 and 30 points to finish second by virtue of a three-way tiebreaker. If L. Rytas win, or Aris wins by fewer than 6 or more than 30 points, Fener drops to third and will not move on. Tau cruised to an easy win in its highest scoring game of the season when it last faced Fenerbahce last month, 103-84 in Vitoria, Spain. Pablo Prigioni dished 7 assists as Tau had seven scorers in double figures that night. Tau has battled injuries throughout the Top 16, but head coach Neven Spahija should have a full squad for this encounter. Meanwhile Fener has dropped a pair of close games in back-to-back weeks. One of the team’s strengths has been its bench, with Tarence Kinsey emerging as a strong scoring threat and Omer Asik developing into a force in the paint on both ends of the floor. Still Willie Solomon remains Fener’s on-court leader and main offensive weapon. Solomon, Kinsey and Omer Onan will duel Prigioni, Igor Rakocevic and Zoran Planinic in a competitive backcourt matchup, while the hosts will send Ogus Savas, Asik, Gasper Vidmar and the rest of the team’s interior rotation against the likes of Tiago Splitter, Will McDonald and Mirza Teletovic. One of the secrets to Tau’s success is hat while leading the Top 16 in scoring with 90.2 points per game, it has committed the second fewest turnovers in the competition. The spirited hosts will try to change that as much as possible. There are reasons to consider both teams as favorites: Tau has the experience, scoring prowess and will want to remain undefeated in the Top 16, while Fener has its back to the wall, and brings youth and depth that could work together in a critical game. The expectations are that this game will go to the wire with no result being a surprise at this point.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Euroleague.net

Quotes Head Coaches

TANJEVIC, BOGDAN
Fenerbahce Ulker
“This is the most important game of the season for us. We are on the edge of a big achievement for the club history. And the last step will be one of the highest to pass against Tau Ceramica. They are a legendary Euroleague club and always targeting the top. They have an excellent roster, which is playing much better than at the beginning of the season. Tau has great talents like Zoran Planinic, Simas Jasaitis, Tiago Splitter, Mirza Teletovic, Pablo Prigioni and many others. We need our fans to pack Abdi Ipekci Arena like we had against Aris TT Bank. We will try to win the game with all our energy.”
SPAHIJA, NEVEN
Tau Ceramica
"First and foremost, I always want to win. Taking that into account, we must practice new concepts and get James Singleton involved. He needs to play, I don't know how much, but I definitely want him to be involved with the team. James is working hard and can practice for two hours. He can play, but is far away from his best shape. As usual, we want to be focused against Fenerbahce Ulker, play the way we did in the last month and win the game. We can use this game for the future. Fenerbahce is scoring a lot of three-pointers lately. We need to play defense the way we did against Aris."

Players

MRSIC, DAMIR
Fenerbahce Ulker
“We will play the hardest game of the season in all three important subjects of the game, technically, physically and mentally. And we have to stay strong in all those three subjects to win the game. There’s nothing much to say about Tau Ceramica that they proved their quality with the current position in our group. What we have to do is to spend our energy with full power for 40 minutes for our team. I hope we get what we need on the court without suffering any accidents.”
Will Solomon - Fenerbahce Ulker Fenerbahce Ulker is in the Quarterfinal Playoffs! The Turkish champs led from start to finish, defeating Tau Ceramica 75-59 on Wednesday at the Abdi Ipekci Arena in Istanbul to clinch second place in Group E and a quarterfinal date with Group D winner Montepaschi Siena. Fener finished the Top 16 with a 3-3 record and handed Tau its only loss of this stage, ending that team’s six-game winning streak. Tau, which already wrapped up the top spot in the group last week, will meet Partizan Igokea in the playoffs. Willie Solomon matched his season-high with 28 points, going 5 for 6 from downtown, to pace the inners. Fener scored the first 8 points of the game and continued to increase the lead throughout the first period, reaching 40-17 early in the second period. Tau answered with a 0-10 run and with Tiago Splitter scoring well in the paint, the visitors cut the gap to 43-30 by halftime. In the third, Tau would get within 8, but Solomon seemed to be everywhere when it mattered and kept Fener comfortably ahead en route to a historic win. Solomon added 4 steals and 4 assists for the hosts, James White scored 11 and Emir Preldzic and Rasim Basak posted 9 each. Splitter paced Tau with 21 points on 9-of –11 shooting and 7 rebounds. Teletovic added 9 points and Gabe Muoneke 7.

It was a perfect start for Fenerbahce Ulker as the home team came out of the gate with three pointers from Solomon, Preldzic and Basak. After just 33 seconds, Fener led 5-0. Tau Ceramica stayed strong inside with Splitter and Pete Mickeal scoring, but Preldzic's triple from the left side and its tough defense plus the support of its fans helped the home side extend the lead minute by minute. Soon Solomon hit another triple to increase the lead to 13-4. A Mickeal jumper in the paint made it 15-10, but then Fenerbahce used a 10-2 charge to make it 25-12 on a triple from Basak. Solomon soon stretched the lead to 14 with a three-pointer before Teletovic answered the same way. White had the last word in the first quarter with a skillful layup that made it 30-17 after 10 minutes.

James Singlenton - Tau CeramicaFenerbahce was still hot as the second period began. The hosts scored 10 unanswered points with Semih Erden, Solomon, Basak and White all contributing to increase the lead to an amazing 23 points – 40-17 – just four minutes into the period. Tau overcame the shock with superb zone defense and responded with a 0-10 run of its own. James Singleton held his team with a nice dunk to start the charge, Sergi Vidal added a layup and then Splitter tallied his 14th points with two straight layups as Tau reduced the gap to 40-27. Basak break the silence for Fener with his third triple of the game, but Vidal ended the first half by replying with a three-pointer to determine the halftime score of 43-30.

Splitter made another layup early in the third quarter to cut the difference to 11 points, but Fener remained hot and extended the lead to 48-32 with another triple from Solomon. The grew to 53-36 as Solomon continued to pepper the nets. Tau went back to zone pressure and strengthened its defense. Splitter’s 21st point brought Tau to its closest sine the first period, 55-47. White’s free throws made it a 10-point lead and then Solomon extended the lead to 12 points from the line. However Pablo Prigioni silenced the Fener fans with a buzzer-beating triple from his own end of the floor to end the third period 59-50.

An Omer Asık dunk put Fener ahead by double digits once more and the home team controlled the game with its strong defense, plus points from Solomon and White. Just three-and-a-half minutes into the period, a White jumper made it 67-50 and essentially secured the outcome. Muoneke's individual efforts inside made it 71-57 midway through the period, but Asik kept the hosts in control and increased the lead to 18 points as the hosts celebrated a playoff berth.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Gokhan Ture, Istanbul
Referees: LAMONICA, LUIGI (ITA), CICORIA, GIANPAOLO (ITA), VOJINOVIC, MILIJA (SRB)
Attendance: 10000
By Quarter1234
Fenerbahce Ulker30131616
Tau Ceramica1713209
End of Quarter1234
Fenerbahce Ulker30435975
Tau Ceramica17305059
Head coach: TANJEVIC, BOGDAN
Fenerbahce Ulker
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
 3FG
M-A
 FT
M-A
 Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
4 WHITE, JAMES 23:30 11 3/3 1/3 2/2   2 2 2   1     1 3 14
5 SOLOMON, WILLIE 31:38 28 3/5 5/6 7/7   4 4 4 4 5     2 4 34
7 ONAN, OMER 15:09   0/2 0/3                   1   -6
8 BASAK, RASIM 25:50 9 0/1 3/6     3 3 1 2 1     2 3 11
9 ERDEN, SEMIH 11:07 4 1/2   2/2 1 2 3   1 2 1   4 1 3
12 MRSIC, DAMIR 8:39     0/1         2 1       1   1
14 VIDMAR, GASPER 12:50 4 2/3     1 1 2 1 2 1     2 1 6
15 DEMIREL, HAKAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
21 SAVAS, OGUZ 12:52 2 1/2 0/1 0/1   1 1     1       1  
22 KINSEY, TARENCE 24:51 4 1/3 0/5 2/4 1 5 6   2 2 1 1 2 3 2
24 ASIK, OMER 15:05 4 2/4   0/2   4 4   2 1   1   1 5
55 PRELDZIC, EMIR 18:29 9 3/4 1/3   2 3 5 2       1 1   11
Team                   1           1
Totals 200:00 75 16/29 10/28 13/18 5 25 30 12 15 14 2 3 16 17 82
55.2% 35.7% 72.2%
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Head coach: SPAHIJA, NEVEN
Tau Ceramica
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
 3FG
M-A
 FT
M-A
 Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
5 PRIGIONI, PABLO 21:08 5   1/5 2/2   2 2 2 1 4     1 2 3
6 GARCIA, ANDER DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8 RAKOCEVIC, IGOR 26:22 2 0/4 0/1 2/2   2 2 1   4     1 2 -3
9 VIDAL, SERGI 19:52 5 1/3 1/3 0/1   3 3   1 1     2 2 3
10 PLANINIC, ZORAN 21:44 2 1/4 0/2     3 3 4 1       3   2
11 FERNANDEZ, LUCHO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12 TELETOVIC, MIRZA 18:20 9 3/5 1/3   2 1 3   1   1 1 3 1 7
13 JASAITIS, SIMAS 4:59     0/1           1            
15 SINGLETON, JAMES 11:52 2 1/3     1 2 3     2 2   1   2
21 SPLITTER, TIAGO 31:26 21 9/11   3/4 2 5 7 1 1 1   1 2 5 28
30 MUONEKE, GABE 18:22 7 2/4   3/3   4 4     2     1 2 8
33 MICKEAL, PETE 25:55 6 3/5 0/1   1 3 4 1 1 4     3 2 4
Team             1 1     1          
Totals 200:00 59 20/39 3/16 10/12 6 26 32 9 7 19 3 2 17 16 54
51.3% 18.8% 83.3%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

TANJEVIC, BOGDAN
Fenerbahce Ulker
"It was a very important win for us. My team played over the expectations in terms of basketball quality. We played very good defense and managed to keep a great team like Tau Ceramica under 60 points when it averages around 90. That was fantastic. We also took the right decisions in offense. We were sure to control the game rhythm with our defense when we were struggling in offense in the final minutes of the game. We are very proud of this win because our young players now have gained a year of experience. I think we did the right thing by recruiting this young talents. We now have to play a very tough game against Galatasaray Cafe Crown this weekend. We have to think about this game before considering a very good team like Montepaschi Siena. They have better chances to reach the Final Four but we also want to keep our chances alive as long as we can."
SPAHIJA, NEVEN
Tau Ceramica
"I'm really like Fenerbahce Ulker fans tonight. They created a very strong basketball atmosphere in Abdi Ipekci and the only bad thing in this game was our team. The atmosphere at Abdi Ipekci was one of the best of Europe. There is nothing much to say about the game because Fenerbahce played excellent basketball tonight. Nobody knows what will happen in the Quarterfinal Playoffs, as every team has its chances. We will see what we can do."

Players

WHITE, JAMES
Fenerbahce Ulker
"We had an excellent game in defense. We proved what we are tonight and hope to repeat this performance in the Quarterfinal Playoffs. We are very happy to move into the playoffs but we know that we can take another step forwards and reach the Final Four. We will try our chance in the next round against Montepaschi Siena."
PLANINIC, ZORAN
Tau Ceramica
"It was a hard game to play. There was an incredible environment to play against. I think their outside shooting was the key to this game. They showed all that they can do. They played great but we were not good enough at the same time. We had some important games in Spanish league and then we will see what we can do against Partizan Igokea."
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