Fenerbahce at Valencia
Date: 2/29
Time: 9:30 AM IST
Game Preview
Round 26 concludes with a high-stakes matchup between two teams battling for playoff positioning.
Fenerbahce has dropped its past two contests, including a blowout loss to Real Madrid in Round 25. They'll look to their star guard Nando de Colo to lead a bounce-back effort against a Valencia team that boasts a 12-13 overall record and currently sits seventh overall. de Colo is averaging 16.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game so far on terrific percentages of 50.6 percent from the field and 40.4 percent from three. He's aided by point guard Kostas Sloukas, who runs the show with his averages of 11.5 points and 6.3 assists per contest. After an injury-plagued campaign, veteran center Jan Vesely appears to be fully recharged and has reached double figures in each of his past five contests. Derrick Williams has been a nice addition for the Turkish club and is putting up 11.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 steals out of the power forward spot.
Valencia will be thin at the guard spots again this week, but regardless their charge will be led by star center Bojan Dubljevic. Dubljevic has had a fantastic season thus far and is posting averages of 14.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per contest. Valencia's depth will be challenged Friday, but they will rely upon the versatile Alberto Abalde, Mike Tobey -- who chips in 8.4 points ppg -- and Quino Colom, who figures to again play an expanded role with three of his fellow guards sidelined.
Valencia triumphed last time these teams met, notching an exceptionally close 100-98 overtime victory behind 30 points and 12 rebounds from Dubljevic.
Injuries
Fenerbahce
None
Valencia Basket
Jordan Loyd - OUT - Foot
2/27 7:40 PM IST - Loyd (foot) will not play Friday against Fenerbahce, according to Juanma Romero of Levante TV. Friday's game comes right around the end of Loyd's five-week recovery timeline, but the initial estimate holds true and he will miss at least one more game.
Maurice Ndour - GTD - Undisclosed
2/28 7:58 PM IST - Ndour missed practice time this week and is uncertain for Friday's matchup with Fenerbahce, according to Las Provincias. It's not clear what is ailing Ndour, but his availability for Round 26 is uncertain as a result.
Fernando San Emeterio - GTD - Undisclosed
2/28 7:59 PM IST - San Emeterio missed practice time this week and is uncertain for Friday's matchup with Fenerbahce, according to Las Provincias. It's not clear what is ailing San Emeterio, but his availability for Round 26 is uncertain as a result.
Sam Van Rossom - OUT - Hamstring
2/27 7:35 PM IST - Van Rossom (hamstring) will not play Friday against Fenerbahce, according to Juanma Romero of Levante TV. The hamstring injury Van Rossom suffered in Round 22 will end up costing him another game. It's not clear how close he is to playing, but he will have just four days of additional recovery time before Valencia's next EuroLeague game with two Rounds being played next week.
Guillem Vives - OUT - Quadriceps
2/27 7:38 PM IST - Vives (quad) will not play Friday against Fenerbahce, according to Juanma Romero of Levante TV. Vives' injury will prevent him from taking the court for a second straight Round. A timeline for his return has not been revealed, but he will have just four extra days to recover before Valencia plays its Round 27 game against ASVEL.
Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul Probable Starters
G - Nando de Colo
G - Kostas Sloukas
F - Derrick Williams
F - Nikola Kalinic
C - Jan Vesely
Valencia Basket Probable Starters
G - Alberto Abalde
G - Joan Sastre
F - Fernando San Emeterio
F - Louis Labeyrie
C - Bojan Dubljevic
Top Picks
Bojan Dubljevic, PAM - Arguably the best center in the league, Dubljevic plays a well-rounded game and is contributing 14.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 threes per game. He had his best scoring night of the season last time these teams matched up.
Nando de Colo, ULK - de Colo found success against his former team during their previous matchup. In the overtime loss, he fueled his 31 total points with a perfect 16-of-16 mark from the line.
Kostas Sloukas, ULK - Sloukas has emerged as one of the top distributors in the league. Overall, he's posting averages of 11.5 points, 6.3 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game.
Quino Colom, PAM - While Colom's season-long averages of 6.9 points, 4.0 assists and 1.5 rebounds per game aren't overly impressive, he has played well over the last couple Rounds. Notably, he dropped 10 points, nine assists and five rebounds against Maccabi Tel Aviv in Round 25.
Captiancy Options
Dream 11 Team
Grand League combination:
Dubljevic, de Colo, Sloukas, Colom
Small League combination:
Dubljevic, Sloukas, Vesely, Colom
