The match in Istanbul obliges Olimpia to a week with a double supplementary EuroLeague round (on Friday they will play at home against Bayern Munich). The race is part of the Round 24 schedule, but was suspended due to the earthquake that hit Turkey. Olimpia won six consecutive games before succumbing to Madrid in the last minute for Real. Fenerbahce are firmly in the playoff zone, even if they lost in Valencia in the previous round and must defend their position in the top four from the onslaught that is coming not only from Monaco but now also from Partizan. The first leg came at the most difficult time for Olimpia and perhaps the best for Fenerbahce which however recovered Nemanja Bjelica, former NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors and former EuroLeague MVP. Olimpia is in the midst of a crazy tour de force of racing. Back from Istanbul he will have two days off before returning to the field, but then there will be four consecutive days with only one day between one and the other. A terrible calendar in a month of March with 12 commitments practically all of the highest level of difficulty, of which seven have currently been acquitted. Olimpia have won in Istanbul against Fenerbahce in both of the last two seasons, but paradoxically they have never beaten them in Milan in the same period. He will try to prolong this singular streak. To do so, Olimpia will have to overcome another period of absences due to various injuries that hit after Devon Hall (right knee), Gigi Datome (left ankle), Paul Biligha (right knee) also Shavon Shields (day to day, ankle left) and Kevin Pangos (abdominal strain).
NOTE – Fenerbahce Istanbul-EA7 Emporio Armani Milano will be played on Tuesday 21 February at 18:15 Italian time at the Ulker Arena. Live on Sky Sports and Eleven.
THE REFEREES – Daniel Hierrezuelo (Spain), Olegs Latisevs (Latvia), Rain Peerandi (Estonia).
COACH ETTORE MESSINA – “We face one of the best teams in the competition, built around two expert guards like Calathes and Wilbekin, with a lot of offensive talent and dangerousness in every role, with a physical and deep front. Due to the absences, which have come back heavy, we have lost some of the balance that had allowed us to win six consecutive games, but in Istanbul we want to play the best game possible, compete as we always have, and try to improve regardless by who will go on the field”.
IL FENERBAHCE – The squad is built around two very experienced EuroLeague guards, Nick Calathes and Scottie Wilbekin. The former, a two-time top five in the competition and a three-time assist leaderboard winner, is averaging 8.5 points per game, 5.0 assists and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 37.8% from three ranges. Wilbekin is producing 11.5 points per game on 2.6 assists and shooting 37.3% from three points. The quintet usually includes Nigel Hayes (9.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, 60.2% from two) and center Johnathan Motley, somewhat surprisingly the team’s leading scorer with 14.5 points per game thanks to 62.7% in two-point shooting to which he adds 5.8 rebounds on average, of which 2.8 are won in attack. The fifth man of the quintet can vary. The most frequent call so far has been the Canadian Dyshawn Pierre (6.3 points, 47.9% from three, 3.4 rebounds per game), but he should be absent due to injury. It could therefore be the turn of center forward Devin Booker (6.0 points and 3.4 rebounds per game) or even Kostas Antetokounmpo, who arrived this season, but lost space with the return of veteran Tonye Jekiri (4.8 points, 3.2 rebounds per game , 67.2% from two). Among the full backs off the bench, Marko Guduric stands out (12.5 points per game, 61.6% from two, 39.5% from three plus 3.1 assists per game), but also the small American Carsen Edwards (7.7 points per game) and the Turkish expert Meli Mahmutoglu (6.3 points per game, 42.9% from three). Nemanja Bjelica is back after a long injury which has allowed him to play only four games so far. Explosive winger Sahmes Hazer (3.3 points per game, 68.2% from two) and shooting wing Metecan Birsen may also have room. Tyler Dorsey, who arrived a few weeks ago, is not usable because he was not registered yet when the race should have taken place.
I PRECEDENTI VS. FENERBAHCE– In the previous 23, Fenerbahce leads 15-8. The two teams met in 1996/97, the first round of the EuroLeague with a double victory for Olimpia. In 2011/12 they met again, still in the Top 16, and Fenerbahce won in Istanbul 65-63 but lost in Milan 85-72 (27 points from Malik Hairston). In 2013/14, Olimpia won in Milan 90-85 (17 from Daniel Hackett) and then repeated it in Istanbul 82-73 with 16 points from David Moss and 13 from Alessandro Gentile. Fenerbahce then went on to win ten consecutive matches between the sides, four in the 2014/15 season, before losing the first leg of the 2019/20 season in Milan 87-74. In that match there were 22 points from Sergio Rodriguez. In 2020/21, Olimpia won again in Istanbul 79-71 with 15 points from Zach LeDay and 13 from Kevin Punter, but Fenerbahce took revenge in the second leg by winning 100-92 with 20 points from Nando De Colo (16 by Gigi Datome in Olimpia). In the first leg of last season, Olimpia won 68-43 with 13 points from Shavon Shields, 11 and 7 assists from Sergio Rodriguez, a career-high six steals from Nicolò Melli. But in the second leg, Fenerbahce won again and then took the third consecutive victory at the Mediolanum Forum in the first leg 82-72 (22 points from Nigel Hayes-Davis) despite 18 from Naz Mitrou-Long and 16 from Devon Hall . In practice, in the last five matches in which the two teams have faced each other, the guests have always prevailed.
LA FENERBAHCE CONNECTION – Gigi Datome played at Fenerbahce for five seasons with four EuroLeague Final Four appearances and the European title won in 2017. Datome played 149 EuroLeague games in yellow and blue, scoring 1,538 points. He also won the Turkish title three times and the Turkish Cup three times. In 2016 he was the MVP of the Turkish championship final. Nicolò Melli played two years at Fenerbahce between 2017 and 2019 playing 72 games including the EuroLeague Final in 2018 and the Final Four in 2019. Melli scored 583 points for Fenerbahce in the EuroLeague with 325 rebounds grabbed. He also won a title and a Turkish Cup. Kyle Hines and Johannes Voigtmann played at CSKA Moscow for Fenerbahce coach Dimitris Itoudis. With him, Hines won the EuroLeague twice, most recently in 2019. Brandon Davies played for Barcelona alongside Nick Calathes and Nigel Hayes; Deshaun Thomas played at Panathinaikos under Calathes himself.
NICOLO MELLI NOTES – Nicolò Melli, after becoming the first rebounder in Olimpia history, also surpassed 2,000 points in his career. He became the twentieth player to simultaneously have at least 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. He also surpassed the 1,000 defensive rebound mark. He is the sixth player to reach this milestone. Melli has 1,000 exact defensive rebounds. The fifth defensive rebounder in EuroLeague history is Ante Tomic with 1,025. The next race in which he enters the starting lineup will be the 200th as a starter in the history of the competition.
KYLE HINES NOTES – Kyle Hines is within 21 defensive rebounds of 1,000 for his career. His streak of 104 consecutive games played in the EuroLeague for Olimpia continues. Hines is fourth in number of appearances behind Kaleb Tarczewski, Nicolò Melli and Vlado Micov.
BILLY BARON NOTES – Olimpia is 10-4 in games where Billy Baron has scored in double figures. In the other two victories, Baron scored nine points (in Monaco) and eight (against Panathinaikos). In games won by Olimpia, Baron scores 15.0 points per game on 50.0% on three-point shooting and 66.7% from three-point range.