AX Armani Exchange Milan vs. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul

2020-21Regular SeasonRound 27

AX Armani Exchange Milan 92

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 100

March 03, 2021 CET: 20:45

Local time: 20:45 MEDIOLANUM FORUM

De Colo, Vesely lead Fenerbahce past Milan

In a battle of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague powerhouses, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul returned to winning ways by downing AX Armani Exchange Milan 92-100 at Mediolanum Forum on Wednesday. Fenerbahce improved to 16-11 in the standings and recorded its 11th victory in the last 12 games. Milan dropped to 17-10. Nando De Colo led the winners with 20 points, Lorenzo Brown added 18, DyShawn Pierre and Marko Guduric had 15 apiece while Jan Vesely flirted with a triple-double as he posted 13 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 8 assists for Fenerbahce. Kevin Punter led Milan with 20 points, Luigi Datome added 16, Shavon Shields 15 and Sergio Rodriguez 13. It all came down to the final 3 minutes, in which Guduric, Vesely and an unstoppable De Colo made the difference down the stretch.

.@Free_Brooks21 that belongs in a museum because that is ART ️️#7DAYSmagicMoment pic.twitter.com/BX1yFB0tvL
— Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) March 3, 2021

De Colo got Fenerbahce going with a three-pointer and a jumper, getting help from Pierre for a 4-8 lead. Ahmet Duverioglu followed a tip-in with a layup and Vesely dunked, but Michael Roll and Vladimir Micov each struck from downtown and Punter added a three-point play for a 15-14 Milan lead. Pierre, De Colo and Duverioglu kept pacing, the guests but Shields hit a jumper and Kaleb Tarczewski added a couple of three-point plays to boost the hosts' lead to 28-24 after 10 minutes. Kyle O'Quinn struck from beyond the arc and Guduric added a driving basket for a 28-29 Fenerbahce lead. Rodriguez rescued the hosts with back-to-back triples and Datome added another one to give his team fresh air at 39-33. Vesely stepped up with a layup and a couple of alley-oop slams, getting help from Pierre and Danilo Barthel to restore a 41-43 Fenerbahce lead. De Colo took over with a layup-plus-foul and Barthel followed a dunk with a jumper, but Datome, Punter and Jeff Brooks - off an inbounds steal at the halftime buzzer - hit each a triple for a 52-50 Milan lead at the break.

Micov and Guduric joined the three-point shootout soon after the break. Kyle Hines and Shields soon restored a 60-53 Milan lead. Guduric struck twice from beyond the arc, De Colo added back-to-back jumpers and Pierre also struck from downtown in a 0-13 run that gave Fenerbahce a 60-66 edge. Datome sank a corner triple and a catch-and-shoot jumper, but Brown singlehandedly made it a double-digit game, 65-75. Brooks and Rodriguez brought the hosts a bit closer, 69-78, after 30 minutes. Punter hit a three-pointer early in the fourth quarter and soon added a jumper and a dunk off a steal to bring his team within 77-80. Shields followed a jumper with a jump hook that made it 81-82. De Colo buried a triple and fed Vesely for a three-point play to give Fenerbahce fresh air at 81-88. After Rodriguez struck from downtown, Pierre and Shields exchanged baskets. Vesely restored a 86-92 Fenerbahce lead with less than 3 minutes left. Shields dunked off a steal, but Guduric sank free throws and De Colo struck from beyond the arc to seal the outcome, 88-97, in the next-to-last minute.

What a rejection! #7DAYSMagicMoment pic.twitter.com/zTR5jjkPHl
— Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) March 3, 2021

Pivotal performer

Jan Vesley narrowly missed a triple-double with a sensational all-around performance tonight. He finished the game with 13 points on 5-of-7 two-point shooting and 3-of-3 on free throws, plus 10 rebounds and a career-high 8 assists. he added 2 steals, 1 block and 5 fouls drawn for a PIR of 35.

Game-changing moment

Milan managed to rally from a double-digit deficit to get within 81-82. Nando De Colo took matters into his own hands, hitting a three-pointer and finding Jan Vesely for a three-point play. Fenerbahce never looked back after that, as De Colo kept full control of the situation until the final buzzer.

Stellar stat

Fenerbahce outrebounded Milan 20-35, including 12 offensive boards. It also collected 7 steals and committed just 10 turnovers. In a game in which both teams shot the ball extremely well, hustle made the difference.

Did you know?

Luigi Datome struck from downtown midway through the second quarter to reach the 2,000-point mark in EuroLeague history. He is the 40th player to reach the milestone and the second Italian on this list; Gianluca Basile is the other one, ranking 36th with 2,163 points.

Next game

Both teams return to EuroLeague action later on this week - on Friday, March 5. Milan visits Zalgiris Kaunas. Fenerbahce also plays on the road, facing LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne at the Astroballe.

Jan Vesely - Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul - EB20

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Euroleague.net

Referees: PUKL,SASA; CORTES, CARLOS; BISSANG, JOSEPH

Attendance: 0

By Quarter	1	2	3	4
AX Armani Exchange Milan	28	24	17	23
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul	24	26	28	22

End of Quarter	1	2	3	4
AX Armani Exchange Milan	28	52	69	92
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul	24	50	78	100

AX Armani Exchange Milan

							Rebounds						Blocks		Fouls
#	Player	Min	Pts	2FG	3FG	FT	O	D	T	As	St	To	Fv	Ag	Cm	Rv	PIR
0	PUNTER, KEVIN	30:26	20	5/7	3/6	1/1		2	2		1	1			3	1	15
5	MICOV, VLADIMIR	25:35	8	1/3	2/3			1	1	2		1		1	2	2	6
9	MORASCHINI, RICCARDO	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
10	ROLL, MICHAEL	21:11	5	1/2	1/2			2	2	2						1	8
13	RODRIGUEZ, SERGIO	19:09	13	2/4	3/5			1	1	4		2	1		2	5	16
15	TARCZEWSKI, KALEB	12:51	6	2/2		2/2		1	1			2			3	2	4
20	CINCIARINI, ANDREA	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
31	SHIELDS, SHAVON	31:49	14	6/8	0/2	2/2	1	1	2	5	1	2			3	2	15
32	BROOKS, JEFF	9:20	5	1/2	1/1						1	1	1				5
40	EVANS, JEREMY	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
42	HINES, KYLE	27:09	5	2/7		1/1	2	2	4	3				1	4	2	4
70	DATOME, LUIGI	22:30	16	2/2	3/6	3/3		6	6	2		1	1		1	1	21
	Team						1		1								1
	Totals	200:00	92	22/37	13/25	9/9	4	16	20	18	3	10	3	2	18	16	95
				59.5%	52%	100%

Head coach: MESSINA, ETTORE

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

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul

							Rebounds						Blocks		Fouls
#	Player	Min	Pts	2FG	3FG	FT	O	D	T	As	St	To	Fv	Ag	Cm	Rv	PIR
4	BROWN, LORENZO	19:52	18	4/8	3/3	1/1		1	1	4	1	3		2	1	1	15
8	GUDURIC, MARKO	28:10	15	1/6	3/7	4/4	2	2	4	2		2			4	2	8
11	O'QUINN, KYLE BRANDON	12:53	3	0/1	1/2			1	1		2				2		2
13	BIBEROVIC, TARIK	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
19	DE COLO, NANDO	33:36	20	5/8	3/7	1/1		3	3	4	1	2			2	6	23
21	PIERRE, DYSHAWN	32:06	15	4/5	1/3	4/4	1	3	4	3	1		1			3	24
22	BARTHEL, DANILO	18:02	9	3/4	1/1			4	4	1		1		1	1		10
24	VESELY, JAN	33:36	13	5/7		3/3	4	6	10	8	2		1		2	5	35
25	SIPAHI, KENAN	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
31	EDDIE, JARELL	7:17													2		-2
35	MUHAMMED, ALI	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
44	DUVERIOGLU, AHMET	14:28	7	3/4		1/2	2	1	3	1		2			2	1	6
	Team						3	2	5								5
	Totals	200:00	100	25/43	12/23	14/15	12	23	35	23	7	10	2	3	16	18	126
				58.1%	52.2%	93.3%

Head coach: KOKOSKOV, IGOR

Head Coaches

MESSINA, ETTORE

AX Armani Exchange Milan

"It is one of those nights when you just congratulate your opponent. I think we played a good game, with the exception of a few minutes in the third quarter, when we lost our composure on offense and turned the ball over too much. But overall, our offensive numbers were very good and their offensive numbers are even much better. Of course, the rebounds were the key to this game. They scored 3 threes off offensive rebounds in crucial moments. They overall controlled the boards all the time and deserved the win. We cannot expect to win a game allowing 100 points, that's it."

KOKOSKOV, IGOR

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul

"We are pleased with the outcome, it is a great thing that we won the game against a tough team and a great coach, one of the legends, one of the greatest coaches in European basketball, so for us, just leaving this arena with a win, we accomplished why we are here."

"It was a long 40-minute game. We are definitely happy with the outcome of this game. We played a really good team regardless if they are missing Delaney, but sometimes you play your best game without your best players. That didn't really put us in a mode that we didn't come relaxed. We come focused and understood the importance of the game and who we were playing tonight. So the focus was there and energy is always there. We played a veteran team who knows how to punish every mistake that you make defensively and that is what they did. So it was a close game. In the third quarter, I think our response was great. We hit some big shots that definitely helped us. Three-point shooting is not something that is our best part of our game, but I think that those shots that Guduric made in the third quarter, Lorenzo Brown helped us make the separation and obviously in crunch time, we have no doubt that Jan Vesely had a monster game. I congratulated all the guys in the locker room for the effort and execution. A big win for Fenerbahce club."

Players

VESELY, JAN

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul

"First of all, we had a horrible beginning of the season. We were losing everything by 30 and our last game against Efes, we lost like that. Our mentality was trying to forget about the game at home with Efes and play like we played in the 10 games that we won in a row, so we did that. We fought and stayed together. We made some mistakes in the beginning of the fourth quarter, but we brought it until the end, so I am very happy for the team."