betprepare.com

Fener lost Gigi Datome

This match is crucial for both teams. Efes for the playoff, but a win would give them a chance for Top 4, and Fener needs the win for the Top 4 and the home floor advantage in the quarterfinal

www.anadoluefessporkulubu.org

- One of the keys in our game is the defense. We've got athletic, physical guys and every time we play physically, we dominate the rebounds and have a big chance to win - Jayson Granger said after they left Zalgiris in Kaunas at 24 points in the second half, making a huge step towards the playoff.

- Zalgiris are strong in the offensive rebounds, but this time we were jumping well and controlled the rhythm - the coach Perasović added.

Granger played for 32 minutes, hitting 25, and Heurtel only played for 11 minutes and got no points. We announced lots of minutes for Granger, Brown and Honeycutt, with Dunston, but those four basically didn't leave the floor.

The win got them to the 15-12 score, the same as Crvena Zvezda, while Baskonia and Panathinaikos have 16, and Fenerbahce 17. If Efes win today, not only will they secure the playoff, but they could get involved in the fight for the Top 4, and that would mean home floor advantage in the quarterfinal.

They will play Olympiacos at home and Real on the road in the last two rounds, so no need to point out how big of a job they still have ahead.

They recently beat Fener in the Turkish Cup quarterfinal, 82-74, with 18 and six assists by Heurtel, 12 by Dunston, and 11 by Brown, Osman and Honeycutt. They lost the first game in the Euroleague 88-80, and the league game in Turkey 81-75, Supercup before the season 77-69.

Fener are coming after a shocking defeat against the weak Maccabi at home. They had a chance to confirm the Top 4. The defeat means they can't joke around anymore. They're only one win ahead of Baskonia and Panathinaikos who are playing each other in Vitoria today, and in the last two rounds, they have to play Real in Madrid and Barcelona at home. Barcelona probably won't mean problems, but Real are coming next week, and if they lose today, it won't be easy.

To make things worse, Datome injured his shoulder against Maccabi. He'll be out for a few weeks. Sloukas has been gone for some time, Bogdanović missed Maccabi because of his ankle, but there's a chance he might play a bit today. Fener said they'll decide before the game, but considering how important the game is, he might play for real.

Without Datome, Kalinić will probably play a lot. They were really inconsistent against Maccabi, even more so than against Brose in Germany. They won the first quarter by 10 points, then lost the second 23-16, and allowed 25 in the last. That's now Fener's style...

- The game was decided in the last three minutes because we basically didn't even try to play defense. It was all easy for them - Obradović stated.

For them, Efes is a road game across the city, and since Efes basically don't have their own fans, then we can expect big support shown for Fener who won 10 of the last 13 duels against them, including all three in the Euroleague.