Fenerbahce beat CSKA to spoil Kirilenko's homecoming
ByReuters
Published 27/02/2015 at 22:19 GMT
Fenerbahce moved a step closer to the Euroleague playoffs with a shock 81-75 win at CSKA Moscow on Friday, handing the six-time champions their first home loss this season and stalwart Andrei Kirilenko a sour return home.
Eurosport
Image credit: Eurosport
Former NBA All-Star forward Kirilenko, who rejoined CSKA on Tuesday for a third stint with the Russian giants, made a cameo appearance but scored only two points in five minutes on court.
Roared on by several hundred noisy away fans, the Turkish side raced into a 10-0 lead and held the upper hand throughout a physical contest, which boiled over in the closing stages when CSKA's Serbia playmaker Milos Teodosic was ejected for dissent.
Cool free-throw shooting by Teodosic's compatriots Nemanja Bjelica and Bogdan Bogdanovic allowed Fenerbahce to pull away in the last two minutes.
"I think we did a great job rebounding at both ends and we had to because we were up against one of the best teams in Europe," Fenerbahce's Czech forward Jan Vesely told Euroleague television.
"It was a tough game and a great team effort so we are all very happy," added the former Denver Nuggets and Washington Wizards campaigner.
Vesely and playmaker Andrew Goudelock led the winners with 14 points each, Bogdanovic netted 13 and Bjelica scored 11 as the visitors also outrebounded CSKA 43-36.
SURPRISE DEFEAT
Fenerbahce's city rivals Anadolu Efes Istanbul were on the receiving end of another surprising result as they suffered an 87-84 home defeat by Spaniards Laboral Kutxa Vitoria.
Anadolu Efes launched a fierce second-half fightback after trailing by 17 points at halftime but fell short after French guard Thomas Heurtel, who scored 17 points against his former club, missed several crunch shots in the final quarter.
"We knew Efes would come out strong and be aggressive in the second half and we were also aware just how difficult it is to defend Heurtel but we kept our composure in the last few minutes," said Vitoria coach Ibon Navarro.
Olympiakos Piraeus, who won successive titles in 2012 and 2013, ground out a 77-72 home win against Unicaja Malaga thanks to 18 points and 10 assists by playmaker Vassilis Spanoulis.
Twice former winners Barcelona also had to work hard for a 92-82 overtime victory against Alba Berlin, outscoring the visitors 15-5 in the additional five minutes.
The are six rounds to go in the second stage of the competition, which features two groups of eight with the top four in each reaching the best-of-five quarter-final playoffs.
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