CSKA — Fenerbahce, 17 November 2017

CSKA vs. Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul: 93-95 (-2)

CSKA: De Colo (18 + 6 as + 3 to), Antonov (3), Rodriguez (20 + 4 as), Vorontsevich (2), Clyburn (10 + 6 rb + 4 to + 4 pf), Higgins (17), Khryapa (2), Kurbanov (4 rb + 3 bs), Hines (17 + 4 rb + 3 st + 2 bs + 4 pf), Hunter (4)…

Fenerbahce: Thompson (7 + 12 rb + 2 bs), Melli (11 + 5 rb), Wanamaker (13 + 3 rb + 9 as + 4 to + 4 pf), Sloukas (10 + 9 as + 3 st), Nunnally (6 + 4 pf), Guduric (7 + 5 as + 4 to), Vesely (31 + 5 rb + 4 pf), Datome (10)…

Congratulations to Fenerbahce on the win. When it comes to overtime, in such a fight, the outcome could have been different. They opened the game very well, which is something we allowed. They had easy and comfortable movement of the ball, and they scored 27 points without us being there to compete, which is something we have to analyze some more. After 15 minutes, we actually tried to shrink the floor with full-court defense. With pressing we managed to get fastbreaks, make plays, and came to the halftime with an active chance, and then got the game where we wanted with a lead of 5 points. And in this game, obviously, a five-point lead was nothing for either team. Both teams showed heart and spirit and fought a lot. It hurt us they had plus 11 in rebounds. We tried to prepare for that. On rebounding you need a lot of things, but we had to risk something else to come back to the game and take the lead. We had a lot of switches, and sometime we were exposed on the rebounds, but at least we contained their creation. If we continued the same way, Wanamaker and Sloukas would have had 20 assists each. The game came down to a jumper and a tip, an amazing tip by Melli, and they took the win. This is a lesson that the season is long. We showed stability and showed some progress for sure. I congratulate my players on their fight after the 15th minute, but I told them we cannot give so many gifts, with all the respect to their great team and the great coaching they have. We game them too much, too much of respect, too much of the floor, too much space to operate. And this built their confidence. But that is EuroLeague, we have to take it as it is and fight. Also, a big thank you for the fans. It is very important for us to get extra support that the team needs.