Regular Season Game 1 - October 21, 2009 CET: 18:45 Local time: 19:45 - ABDI IPEKÇI SPORTS HALL

Records

Ave.   Ave.
0-0 Final Four 0-0
0-0 Playoffs 0-0
0-0 Top 16 0-0
0-0 Regular Season 0-0
0-0 Overall 0-0

Referees

Crew Chief
LAMONICA, LUIGI, Italy
Referee
JOVCIC, MILIVOJE, Serbia
Umpire
ZASHCHUK, SERGIY, Ukraine

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
0 Points 0
0 Rebounds 0
0 O. Rebounds 0
0 D. Rebounds 0
0 Assists 0
0 Steals 0
0 Blocks 0
0 Turnovers 0
0 2PT 0
0 3PT 0
0 FT 0
0 Index 0

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
0 Points 0
0 Rebounds 0
0 OR 0
0 DR 0
0 Assists 0
0 Steals 0
0 Blocks 0
0 Turnovers 0
0 2PT 0
0 3PT 0
0 FT 0
0 Index 0

THE TAKE

Two teams with Final Four aspirations will try to get the season started on the right foot Wednesday when Fenerbahce Ulker hosts Regal FC Barcelona. Both teams have made significant moves to upgrade their rosters in anticipation of big years. FB Ulker added scorer Lynn Greer and brought back swingman Tarence Kinsey to the core of last year’s squad, which is mostly healthy after an injury-plagued 2008-09 campaign. Barca added five players that could be a starting lineup for many other teams – Ricky Rubio, Pete Mickeal, Terrence Morris, Erazem Lorbek and Boni NDong – while keeping much of the firepower that launched it to last season’s Final Four, led by Euroleague MVP Juan Carlos Navarro. The overwhelming talents on these teams lead to series of mouth-watering matchups any of which could decide the game. At point guard, Willie Solomon, a seasoned player who can do it all, will lead Fener against Rubio, a rising star ready to take his and his team’s games to another level. Greer, a former scoring champ, pits his skills against those of Navarro. Omer Onan has the guile needed to shine on defense, where he may meet Jaka Lakovic. On the wings, head coach Bogdan Tanjevic sends scorer Gordon Giricek and Kinsey to handle Mickeal. The depth is just as incredible inside, where two of the best shot-blockers in the game, FB Ulker’s Omer Asik and Barca’s Fran Vazquez, will meet. Point forward Emir Preldzic and big guys Semih Erden and Oguz Savas join Asik on the Fener frontline, which is missing only the injured Mirsad Turkcan. Morris, Lorbek and NDong team up with Vazquez to lead Barcelona in the paint. One of Barcelona’s keys to success last season was its road record (7-3), while one of Fener’s biggest problems was its poor home record (4-4). Tanjevic’s men will be eager to change that stat, though head coach Xavi Pascual’s men will keep the confidence in their ability to win on the road when they take the floor in Istanbul. This game promises to be a true opening night classic, with so much of what makes Euroleague Basketball special on display.

REFEREES: Luigi Lamonica, Milivoje Jovcic, Sergey Zaschuk


GAME NOTES

Fenerbahce Ulker
  • Guard Willie Solomon enters the Euroleague season with 258 career assists and is just 2 behind Zoran Planinic for 25th place on the Euroleague’s career charts. He is also tied with Louis Bullock for 20th place on the career steals charts with 154.
  • Guard Lynn Greer needs just 2 more three-pointers to reach 100 for his Euroleague career. He has made at least one three-pointer in his last eight Euroleague games.
  • Rebounding king Mirsad Turkcan has scored in double figures in eight consecutive Euroleague games. He has made at least one three-pointer in each of those games.
  • Turkcan, Greer and Barcelona forward Pete Mickeal were teammates briefly during the 2004-05 season at Dynamo Moscow. Mickael played only one Eurocup game with Moscow before moving to Makedonikos Kozani.
  • Point forward Emir Preldzic and Barcelona guard Jaka Lakovic played together on the Slovenian national team at the 2008 Pre-Olympic Qualifying tournament.
Regal FC Barcelona
  • Guards Juan Carlos Navarro and Jaka Lakovic enter the season ranked third and fourth, respectively, on the Euroleague career scoring charts. Navarro has 2,133 career points and Lakovic is just 3 points behind. Gianluca Basile is seventh on the list with 1,909 points.
  • Basile will become the Euroleague career leader in games played when he takes the floor at Fenerbahce Ulker. Basile enters the season tied for first with former teammate David Andersen at 181, but Andersen is no longer in the league.
  • Big man Erazem Lorbek enters the season 13 points away from reaching 1,000 for his Euroleague career.
  • Center Fran Vazquez enters the season trailing Aleksey Savrasenko by 1 blocked shot for third place on the Euroleague career blocked shot list. Vazquez now has 114 blocks in 99 career games.
  • Navarro has scored in double figures in 14 consecutive Euroleague games. He has made at least 1 three-pointer in his last 16 Euroleague games.
  • Navarro has not missed a free throw in his last nine Euroleague games. He is 40 for 40 over that stretch.
  • Lakovic has made multiple three-pointers in his last six Euroleague appearances.
  • Forward Pete Mickeal had his finest Euroleague performance on opening night last season against Fenerbahce Ulker. Mickeal, then with Caja Laboral, produced 15 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals for a 24 index to lead his team to an 80-70 victory.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Euroleague.net

Quotes Head Coaches

TANJEVIC, BOGDAN
Fenerbahce Ulker
"It's going to be a very tough start for us to the season against a traditional power like Regal Barcelona. The thing that makes the game twice as difficult for us is that we are not fully fit. We are missing Mirsad Turkcan, who is not recovered from a groin injury. This will be our third straight tough game in just seven days, but we have to handle those kinds of things if we wish to challenge on this level. Fortunately we will have Rasim Basak, who couldn't able to play in President's Cup against Efes Pilsen nor in the opening game of Turkish League. Barcelona is a great team with a very large roster filled with plenty of experienced players. We have to play in a very different way than we did in our last couple of games, and play much better, especially on defense, to win."
PASCUAL, XAVIER
Regal FC Barcelona
"We start the Euroleague on the road against a tough opponent in Fenerbahce Ulker, which has kept its core of players for several years. Moreover, the team made some roster changes to be even stronger. From the point guard spot, with Will Solomon and Lynn Greer, two top-level players, to its frontcourt, with the majority of players in the Turkish national team, it is a balanced team. For the first time this season, we have to bounce back from a loss. We had not lost a game in the pre-season or the Spanish League this far. We have to be able to manage this situation, be positive and face this very important game in Turkey."

Players

SAVAS, OGUZ
Fenerbahce Ulker
"It's a good chance for us to start with a big win at home against a very strong team like Regal Barcelona. I think it's a game that we can win if we play good enough. It's true that we are still not fully ready yet. But it's a chance to make a step forward against Regal Barcelona. We will see it if we can do it or not on the court. But I believe that we will be a little bit different, in a positive way, than we showed in our last couple of games."
NAVARRO, JUAN CARLOS
Regal FC Barcelona
"We have to learn from the mistakes we made in Gran Canaria. We were looking forward to beating them there, but now we must bounce back for the game against Fenerbahce. We have to recover, be aware of what we didn't do well and try not to repeat it."
Pete Mickeal - Regal FC BarcelonaRegal FC Barcelona sent a message that echoed all around Group A by thrashing Fenerbahce Ulker 59-82 in Istanbul, Turkey on Wednesday. Barcelona survived a tough test and faces end-of-the-table Cibona at Palau Blaugrana next Thursday. Meanwhile, FB Ulker must bounce back right away and faces Asvel Basket at the Astroballe in Lyon, France on Wednesday. Pete Mickeal paced the winners with a Euroleague career-high 26 points and just one shot missed. Ricky Rubio barely missed a double-double with 9 points and 9 assists in his first Euroleague game with Regal FCB - and his 19th birthday. All 11 Barcelona players scored in this game. Willie Solomon had 16 points for Fenerbahce. Oguz Savas added 11 while Lynn Greer got 10 for the hosts, that got their last lead at 5-2. Fran Vazquez and Mickeal led a 0-12 run that gave Barcelona the lead for good. Barcelona kept a 11-19 edge after 10 minutes and boosted its margin to 21-38 at halftime. An outstanding Mickeal led a 1-16 run that broke the game open and sealed the outcome, 38-62, at the end of the third quarter. FB Ulker did not recover, allowing Barcelona to add a very convincing road win.

Rubio got Barcelona going with a driving basket but Solomon immediately answered from downtown and soon added a six-meter jumper for a 5-2 FB Ulker lead. Mickeal stepped up with a jump hook, as Barcelona tried to attack the basket in the early going. Erazem Lorbek shined with a jump hook while Vazquez added a baseline jumper to give the guests a 5-8 lead. Fener kept missing open shots and could not get Gordan Giricek involved. Meanwhile, Mickeal sank free throws while Vazquez followed another five-meter jumper with an incredible one-handed alleyoop dunk that made the hosts call timeout at 5-14, after a 0-12 run. Omer Asik scored in the low post but a red hot Mickeal buried a big three-pointer and added a jumper to keep the guests way ahead, 8-19. Solomon tried to change things with an outstanding three-point play, but he only managed to bring FB Ulker within 11-19 after 10 minutes.

Oguz Savas - Fenerbahce UlkerAsik kept pacing FB Ulker with a put-back jump hook - and the free throw that came with it but Gianluca Basile came off a screen to sink his trademark 'tiro morbido' from way downtown. Victor Sada soon added a layup in transition to give Barcelona its first double-digit lead, 14-24. FB Ulker tried to run its offense through Solomon without much success. Semih Erden and Mickeal traded free throws but Barcelona kept excelling in defense, with outstanding intensity at both ends. The guests has started to miss easy shots and called a much-needed timeout to improve their offense. Basile hit a free throw while a layup by Terence Morris and a three-pointer by Rubio broke the game open, 17-32. Savas scored around the basket but free throws by Rubio and a layup by Lorbek made it a 16-point game, 20-36. Free throws by Oguz Savas, Asik, Juan Carlos Navarro and Roger Grimau fixed the halftime score at 21-38.

Mickeal followed a big basket with a backdoor layup to keep Barcelona way ahead, 23-42, immediately after the break. Rasim Basak tried to ignite the hosts' comeback with a triple but Navarro silenced the crowd with a fallaway jumper. Kinsey took over with a second-chance layup and Asik scored again, as FB Ulker improved its defensive intensity. A running jumper by Tarence Kinsey gave the hosts some hope, 32-44, midway through this period. Mickeal - who else? - sank another jumper but Solomon answered from downtown to make Barcelona call timeout at 35-46. Mickeal scored in transition and Lorbek added a layup to keep the guests out of trouble at 35-50. FB Ulker had entered the foul bonus and Navarro, Mickeal and Sada sank free throws, as the hosts could not find the way to the basket. Vazquez followed a tip-in with a high-flying aleyoop dunk while free throws by Mickeal capped a 1-16 run and boosted Barcelona's margin to 38-62 after three quarters.

Giricek downed a three-pointer early in the fourth period but Barcelona stayed focused and kept full control of the game to avoid any kind of unexpected problems. Morris made free throws and soon added consecutive layups for a 43-68 margin midway through the fourth quarter. Everything was said and done already, as all Barcelona superstars were resting on the bench. Fenerbahce kept trying once the outcome was clear but it kept missing open shots. Jordi Trias took over with a layup-plus-foul and a layup by Boni Ndong allowed Barcelona to have all players in the scorers' list. Barcelona left the court confirming its status to win it all next season while FB Ulker must improve right away to achieve its high goals in this 2009-10 Euroleague season.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Euroleague.net
Referees: LAMONICA, LUIGI (ITA), JOVCIC, MILIVOJE (SRB), ZASHCHUK, SERGIY (UKR)
Attendance: 1000
By Quarter1234
Fenerbahce Ulker11101721
Regal FC Barcelona19192420
End of Quarter1234
Fenerbahce Ulker11213859
Regal FC Barcelona19386282
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
5 SOLOMON, WILLIE 30:14 16 4/10 2/6 2/3   2 2 1 1 2     1 2 8
7 ONAN, OMER 15:53 2 1/1 0/1 0/2         1       4 1 -3
8 BASAK, RASIM 16:15 3   1/3     2 2           1 2 4
9 ERDEN, SEMIH 13:29 3 0/1   3/6   3 3     4   1 2 3 -2
10 GIRICEK, GORDAN 16:37 3 0/4 1/2     2 2 2   1     4 1 -2
12 MRSIC, DAMIR 7:39                              
14 GREER, LYNN 20:34 10 1/3 2/6 2/2       2 2     1 3 1 5
21 SAVAS, OGUZ 20:50 11 5/7   1/2 2   2 2       1 3 4 12
22 KINSEY, TARENCE 15:12 4 2/3     1   1           1 2 5
24 ASIK, OMER 17:11 6 2/3   2/7 2 1 3     2 1   3 4 3
33 CETIN, SERHAT 5:48     0/1         1   1     1   -2
55 PRELDZIC, EMIR 20:18 1 0/4 0/3 1/2 1 2 3     2     3 1 -8
Team           3 4 7               7
Totals 200:00 59 15/36 6/22 11/24 9 16 25 8 4 12 1 3 26 21 27
41.7% 27.3% 45.8%
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: PASCUAL, XAVIER
Regal FC Barcelona
# 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 BASILE, GIANLUCA 23:00 4   1/4 1/2 1 1 2     3     3 2 -2
8 TRIAS, JORDI 5:48 4 1/1   2/3 1 2 3             2 8
9 RUBIO, RICKY 21:32 9 1/4 1/1 4/4 1 1 2 9 2       2 4 21
11 NAVARRO, JUAN CARLOS 16:43 5 1/3 0/2 3/4       2 1 2       5 6
17 VAZQUEZ, FRAN 23:58 8 4/7     2 5 7 1     2   3   12
21 NDONG, BONIFACE 9:59 6 3/3               2     5 1  
23 MORRIS, TERENCE 17:18 8 3/3 0/4 2/2 1 6 7       1     1 13
24 SADA, VICTOR 18:28 3 1/2 0/3 1/2   3 3 4   1   1   1 4
25 LORBEK, ERAZEM 22:57 6 3/4       5 5 4 1 1     3 3 14
33 MICKEAL, PETE 23:48 26 8/9 1/1 7/7   7 7   1 3     2 4 32
44 GRIMAU, ROGER 16:29 3 1/1 0/1 1/2   1 1 1   2     3 3 1
Team           1 3 4           1   3
Totals 200:00 82 26/37 3/16 21/26 7 34 41 21 5 14 3 1 22 26 112
70.3% 18.8% 80.8%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

TANJEVIC, BOGDAN
Fenerbahce Ulker
"We hosted an excellent team in Regal Barcelona, which also proved tonight one of the great examples of perfect basketball. How we played tonight, it looks like we played without motivation. We were really different than when we played just a week ago against Efes Pilsen in the President’s Cup. We had plenty of open shots, but when we missed those opportunities, then we lost our defensive toughness. Not only behind the three-point line, but also inside the paint, we didn't product points. We didn't find the key to stop the great inside game of Pete Mickeal. He was one of the two key players of our opponent, along with Erazem Lorbek, who also did great job inside. I hope we will play the next games much better."
PASCUAL, XAVIER
Regal FC Barcelona
"We had a good game on defense for all 40 minutes. We controlled the boards really well, which was a must in tonight's game. Our transition from defense to offense was another key to our win tonight. That allowed us to dominate the game tempo. Pete Mickeal had a great game today. He is always prepared for games like this and did a great job out there tonight."

Players

PRELDZIC, EMIR
Fenerbahce Ulker
"We had a very bad game. I mean we created good shots, but we weren't able to put the ball in. We had really wide open shots all the time. But I don’t what happened, really. They were suddenly up by 10 points then we started to dig in. But it was too late. We were all motivated well enough, but I don't know what happened and I don't know why. What we need to do is to find our form in the little time before the next games."
LORBEK, ERAZEM
Regal FC Barcelona
"We had a very good game. It was a very important game for us. Because we had a bad loss against Gran Canaria in the Spanish League, we really wanted to play good. We were ready to play hard. We had a good start and that was the key for the win. We really wanted to play good. What was important was the start of the game and we did great job at the beginning. We knew that it would be hard and all we need to do is to play hard. Everybody did his job as good as they can. Then the game seemed easy. We have a lot of talent in the team and if we use those talents like we did today, we can get what we want."
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