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Fenerbahce want revenge

Fenerbahce got the toughest defeat of the season in the first duel, and the coach Obradović then said that that never happened in his career and they'll definitely be motivated today

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Fenerbahce played 46 competitive games this season, and they lost by double digits only once. It was by 10 points to Maccabi, 11 to Panathinaikos, and 34 to Baskonia (86-52), which nobody could believe happened. Everyone's talking about that match today because nobody can understand how a team like Fenerbahce with a coach like Obradović could get crushed like that. Not even the legendary Serbian coach couldn't not mention that duel:

- We all have to keep in mind what happened there. It was the worst game we played this season because of how we played it and how they played. Now we have to make up for it on our own floor.

They played a national championship derby this weekend. They struggled through the entire 40 minutes against Darussafaka, and were losing the whole time, but then Bogdanović took matters to his own hands in the final moments, and helped Fener win. He will make the biggest difference today because he wasn't playing the first duel in Vitoria.

With him, Fenerbahce's offense are much stronger, even though the point guard Sloukas is still out. But, Dixon and Bogdanović are taking care of the point guard position really well, the center pick works top notch, and the Greek point guard's absence isn't that big of a deal for now.

What could be a much bigger deal is the center Udoh's injury (30 minutes, 12.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks) who injured his collarbone in the game against Darussafaka, and ended up in a hospital afterwards. Luckily, his collarbone wasn't broken, but his statement for www.fotospor.com yesterday shows that the chances of him playing today are not big:

- Luckily, the injury isn't as dangerous as I first thought. Maybe this is God's plan because I'll get a chance to rest before the key part of the season.

There's no info whether he'll stay out, or for how long, so he'll be counted as questionable for now.

Baskonia are also struggling with injuries. They traveled to Turkey without Bargnani who's playing less than he's staying out, but the bigger issue here is that Shengelia, Budinger and Laprovittola are injured and questionable today. But, the coach Alonso didn't want to use that as an excuse:

- I'm not thinking about the players who are no there, but I want to see ambition in those players who are playing. Fenerbahce are a candidate for the title, and they're playing a very varied basketball, so it's not easy to stand up to them. 

It's going to be even harder if the three aforementioned players are out because Alonso's rotation will be very slim then. Besides, Shengelia is very important for their game. Luckily, they could spare Hanga in their winning game against Valencia this weekend, Alonso said he was at the end of his tether. 

He'll be very significant today because he'll be in charge of guarding Bogdanović who's crucial for Fener's game. Alonso believes a lot will depend on that defensive pressure on both ends:

- When they create their defensive pressure, especially with Bogdanović as a point guard, then you have to be very clever offensively and we definitely can't get lost there.

They basically dealt well with situations like those so far, and it's hard to believe that Bogdanović and his teammates can use some sort of an aggressive defense to stop Larkin and Beaubois, for example, those two are great individuals. Udoh's performance which isn't very likely here is a very important factor, because without him, Fenerbahce will be in a big trouble.