Fenerbahce beat R. Madrid, advances to Euroleague Final Four

Fenerbahce beat Real Madrid in third game of its best-of-five quarter-finals in Euroleague Final Four, aiming to be first Turkish team to win Europe's most prestigious cup in basketball

Fenerbahce basketball team players celebrate the victory against Real Madrid, on April 19, 2016.
TRT World and Agencies

Fenerbahce basketball team players celebrate the victory against Real Madrid, on April 19, 2016.

Fenerbahce reached the Euroleague Final Four after completing 3-0 wins in its best-of-five quarter-finals on Tuesday.

Fenerbahce brushed aside holders Real Madrid 75-63 and Laboral sank the competition's six-time winners Panathinaikos 84-75 to join CSKA Moscow, who rounded off their 3-0 sweep of Red Star Belgrade on Monday, in the last four.

Fenerbahce will play Laboral for a berth in the final in Berlin.

Aiming to become the first Turkish team to win Europe's premier club competition, Fenerbahce enjoyed a third emphatic win over Real despite missing their injured Czech centre Jan Vesely throughout the series.

A 17-2 run in the third quarter swung a physical contest Fenerbahce's way as the visitors silenced Real's vociferous home fans with an effervescent second-half performance.

The outcome gave Fenerbahce revenge for last year's semi-final defeat by Real but their Serbian guard Bogdan Bogdanovic praised the ousted champions and their supporters.

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Bogdan Bogdanovic of Fenerbahce in action against Gustavo Ayon of Real Madrid during the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Quarter Final play-off game between Real Madrid and Fenerbahce at the Barclaycard Center in Madrid, Spain on April 19, 2016.

"I don't like to think of it as revenge because it was a superb contest and tonight's game was played in a great atmosphere," said Bogdanovic, who scored all his 17 points in the second half.

"The coach told us to forget about having three chances to reach the Final Four against a team of Real's quality despite being 2-0 up, and we played accordingly."

Bogdanovic's compatriot Zeljko Obradovic, the Euroleague's most successful coach having claimed eight titles with four different clubs, will aim for his first with Fenerbahce after the club's owners invested heavily over several years.

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