Fenerbahce managed to topple Valencia 82-79 at home in Round 22 of the EuroLeague, winning in a clash between two teams at the top of the table.
Fenerbahce played a very tight and disciplined game on both ends of the floor, keeping control for most of the contest and surviving a late scare from Valencia, who made a late comeback to try and steal a win in Turkey, but it was not to be. This win was made even more impressive by the issues that Fenerbahce had entering this game, as they had Jilson Bango, Onuralp Bitim, Chris Silva (more info), Bonzie Colson, Scottie Wilbekin and Arturs Zagars out, while Pedro Martinez’ side came in full strength to try and take down the reigning EuroLeague champion.
Nando de Colo showcased his quality once again despite being 38 years old, as he led Fenerbahce in scoring with 16 points against his former team, while five more players were in double figures for Sarunas Jasikevicius, who was able to cap off a great week for himself after signing an extension with the Turkish club. Nathan Reuvers shook off his questionable tag to lead all scorers with 17 points while Kameron Taylor added 13 points and eight rebounds.
Melli that is OUTRAGEOUS 🤯#MotorolaMagicMoment @Moto I @FBBasketbol pic.twitter.com/uLzdQDQZuz
— EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) January 16, 2026
Claim Now Valencia got 16 offensive rebounds but could not materialize it as they shot only 35% from inside the arc, with Fenerbahce proving their defensive chops once again. Conversely, Fenerbahce shot 63% with a great distribution of offensive possession in both pick-and-roll actions and low-post play.
Fenerbahce improved their record to 14-7 and their next game in the EuroLeague will be on January 21st on the road against Virtus, while Valencia‘s record fell to 14-8 and they will be travelling back to Spain to face Paris at home in what promises to be a potential offensive shootout.
INTERVIEWS:
- Jaka Lakovic: Zeljko Obradovic simply puts you into a mode where you constantly think about basketball
- Zlatko Jovanovic: I stand behind my decision, Honved is living its dream and continues to dream!
- Sani Becirovic: Zenit is thinking seriously, and in the next year or two we are aiming for the highest level
- Levi Randolph: I know what the EuroLeague is, and I hope to play at that level again wearing the Zenit jersey
- Zac Seljaas: I’m a unique person, family means everything to me
- Aleksa Avramovic: Defense wins championships – for sure!
- Nenad Dimitrijevic: It’s sad for the EuroLeague and Partizan that Zeljko Obradovic left
- Ilona Korstin: We are in contact with both the EuroLeague and the NBA, we are present in all meetings
- Bogdan Tanjevic: The main difference between Partizan and Crvena Zvezda – domestic players still lead the way
- Nicolo Melli: We had no-phone rules with Zeljko Obradovic; There was interest from Partizan
- Bo McCalebb: How can you not respect Zeljko Obradovic? My only regret is that I didn’t listen to him enough
