Nick Calathes was the messenger of Fenerbahce’s will to break the curse of Game 5 beating AS Monaco on the road 79-80 to advance to the Berlin’s Final-Four. Nick Calathes scored the last six Fenerbahce points in the overtime to lead the Turkish club to the first road victory in a best-of-five series in the new EuroLeague format.
The teams went back-and-forth, but Monaco led for the large part of the first half, as Donatas Motiejunas and Mike James allowed the hosts to get a 40-35 margin. Tarik Biberovic helped Fenerbahce regain a 55-56 lead after 30 minutes.
Monaco had a chance to win it at the end of regulation, but Elie Okobo missed the potential winning shot. In the overtime, Fenerbahce took a huge blow going down 77-74 after Alpha Diallo’s big three. Nick Calathes tied the game at 77-77, Mike James answered back with a two-pointe but Calathes again became the hero heating the final three of the contest.
Giorgos Papagiannis stole the ball after Elie Okobo’s turnover in the final sequence and Fenerbahce advanced to the Final-Four. Fenerbahce qualified for the EuroLeague Final Four for the first time since 2019 and they will face Panathinaikos in the semifinal of the competition in almost two weeks from now.
Nick Calathes shows his experience at the end to lead Fenerbahce
Nick Calathes had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, while Scottie Wilbekin added also 14 including a crucial three-pointer late in the fourth that kept Fener close. Marko Guduric and Tarik Biberovic added 10 and 13 each to help their team earn a huge victory. For Monaco, Mike James had his best game in the series scoring 20 points.
Donatas Motejiunas added 15 along with 7 rebounds, while Elie Okobo had 15 but two crucial misses in the overtime and regulation.
