Back-to-the-wall Monaco, which finished No. 3 in the regular season, won the battle for survival on the road Friday night, 65-62 (11:15, 19:18, 18:14, 17:15).
The result of the series up to 3 victories became 2-2, and the decisive battle will now take place in the fortress of the “Monaco” club represented by Donatas Motiejūnas.
“Fenerbahçe” started the match better. The hosts led 15:9, 21:13.
But the Turkish club did not manage to escape far, and D. Motiejūnas’ three-pointer in the last second of the attack in the third quarter put Monaco ahead (42:43).
A point-to-point battle ensued. Only one point separated the teams, when Monaco’s leader Mike James, who was silent throughout the match, made a difficult three-pointer in the last minute and gave the guests a 4-point margin (57:61).
Intrigue was brought back by Marko Guduričius’ long shot (62:63), and M. James did not manage to throw the ball out of bounds within 5 seconds.
Scottie Wilbekin took the initiative, but his two-point shot with an extremely high trajectory missed the target.
Fenerbahçe tried to break but were unable to do so and Donta Hall’s layup sealed the point.
Already after the final whistle, there was serious unrest in the middle of the pitch. The tension in the decisive moments in Istanbul was simply bubbling, with objects flying onto the pitch. The judges also picked up a wallet thrown by one of the spectators from the floor.
Donatas Motiejūnas contributed to Monaco’s victory by scoring 10 points (3/5 doubles, 1/2 triples, 1/2 penalties), rebounding and intercepting 2 balls each and collecting 12 utility points.
Fenerbahçe: Marko Guduričius 14 (3/3), Scottie Wilbekin 11 (3/6, 4), Georgios Papagiannis (11) and Nigel Hayes-Davis (2/7) – 10 each, Nick Calathes 8 (6 rebounds, 5 assists).
Monaco: Elie Okobo 13 (2/5 tr.), Donatas Motiejūnas and Mike James (1/6 tr.) – 10 each, Jordan Loydas 8, Alpha Diallo 7 (6 rebounds).
Tags: decisive battle series awaits Monaco broke Shars men Istanbul
