Fenerbahce managed to pull out a tough, gritty win at home against Virtus Bologna in Round 13 of the EuroLeague, winning 66-64.
Fenerbahce entered this game in tremendous form with eight consecutive wins across all competitions, including four straight in the EuroLeague. Meanwhile. Virtus Bologna travelled to Turkey shorthanded, with the injuries to Alen Smailagic and Brandon Taylor being big blows for Dusko Ivanovic and his coaching staff.
The game was very tough and very physical from the start, with both teams not being able to get much of an offensive rhythm. The guards from both sides couldn’t get their offenses in a good flow and it was a strong battle under the rim for positioning and rebounds. Virtus Bologna took a 17-15 lead at the end of the first, but their injury problems continued with Daniel Hackett injuring his back in the second.
However, through great transition running, good switch defense and many offensive rebounds, Virtus Bologna managed to get past the fact that their start guard Carsen Edwards shot only 1-10 from the field in the first half and take a 31-30 lead entering the half. Only Tarik Biberovic had any rhythm shooting from the perimeter for Fenerbahce in the first two quarters.
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No mistake with the put-back from Bonzie 🧹🧹#MotorolaMagicMoment @Moto I @FBBasketbol pic.twitter.com/MF59kja9Vb
— EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) November 25, 2025
Claim Now The combination of Mouhamed Diouf and Karim Jallow was decimating Fenerbahce’s interior, both with the ball and on the glass, as Virtus Bologna built a lead in the third. The defending EuroLeague champions answered through Donte Hall and Wade Baldwin coming alive, hitting many tough mid-range shots to keep the game constantly close.
Fenerbahce continued to stifle both Edwards and Luca Vildoza, but committed many careless turnovers on offense and could not pull away late in front of their home crowd. Matt Morgan took the initiative, getting many free throws, while Baldwin and Bonzie Colson kept hitting shots down the stretch. Morgan and Colson traded clutch threes to make it 64-64 with a minute left. Suddenly, Nicolo Melli showed up with two massive offensive rebounds, leading to a tip basket to give Fenerbahce the lead and then drawing an offensive foul on his teammate, Alessandro Pajola. Virtus Bologna didn’t even manage to make a foul in the final seconds of the game, giving Sarunas Jasikevicius and his team their ninth straight win across all competitions.
Wade Baldwin led all scorers with 18 points. Matt Morgan led Virtus Bologna in scoring with 13, and Carsen Edwards added 11, but on a very poor shooting percentage, making only three of his 16 shots he attempted.
Fenerbahce’s next game in the EuroLeague will be after the international break on December 4th as they travel to Greece to play Olympiacos, whereas Virtus Bologna, who now falls to 6-7 after this loss, will host Dubai at home a day later.
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