Dubai Take Tough Loss at Fenerbahçe in EuroLeague Round 3

1 day ago

1 day ago

Dubai Take Tough Loss at Fenerbahçe in EuroLeague Round 3

2026-10-03T01:10+04:00

Dubai Basketball fought hard against Fenerbahçe in their first away game of the season for EuroLeague Regular Season Round 3 but ultimately could not get the win in Istanbul with a 76–66 loss.

The game was expected to be a tough clash between two unbeaten teams, and it did not disappoint. Dubai were looking for revenge after Fener triumphed in the SuperCup third place game. The game was the Turkish side's third EuroLeague home game in a row, and Dubai's first away fixture having won their opening two fixtures in Coca-Cola Arena.

The home team started with former Dubai center Sertac Sanli and came out strong, with a string of made threes taking advantage of some defensive lapses by Dubai and turning an early 0-6 deficit into a 26-14 advantage for Fenerbahçe at the first break.

Dubai upped their defense in the second quarter, but Fenerbahçe extended their lead to 16 thanks to some hot shooting by guard Wade Baldwin IV and maintained a substantial cushion until 04:13 left in the half when Mamadi Diakite was fouled on a corner three. The Dubai big man made the foul shots and momentum swung in his side's favour. Diakite made his next three and threw down a huge dunk to put an exclamation point on his baseline drive. Threes by Okobo and Bacon also added to Dubai's comeback, their 16-4 run bringing the visitors back to within three points at half time.

Coach Pascual changed his starters in the second half, with Diakite and Bertans starting after the interval. Dubai had taken good care of the ball in the first half with only three turnovers, but it was not to continue. They matched that total in the first three minutes of the third quarter and had already committed four fouls with 07:26 left to play. Yet despite the errors, Dubai showed a newfound defensive toughness to keep themselves in the contest, the quarter finishing 13-12.

Elie Okobo came out in attack mode in the fourth, frequently driving into the lane and drawing fouls and, coupled with solid defense, this got Dubai back to tie the game at 61 with 04:47 left. But from there on, it was all Fenerbahçe. The home team increased the intensity on defense and impressive offensive performances from Bingham and Shavon Shields - who had spent the majority of the game in foul trouble - took Fenerbahçe on a 15-5 run to put the result beyond Dubai's reach.

Marcus Bingham was the game's top scorer with 20 points on 6/7 shooting including four three pointers, adding eight rebounds to complete an outstanding evening for the former Michigan State man. He was supported by Wade Baldwin Iv (14 points, 5 assists) and Braxton Key (12 points, 8 rebounds). Dubai were led by Elie Okobo with 18 points and 4 assists, Mfiondu Kabengele grabbing 12 rebounds despite a difficult night offensively.

Head Coach Xavi Pascual congratulated Fenerbahçe on the win, adding "We opened the game very bad. In the beginning of the game we were soft. After that we made a great effort to come backIlirijare in the game until the last four minutes." Coach PascuaIlirija in Slovenia before returning to Coca-Cola Arena to play Crvena Zvezda in total. This was key and in the mean time we couldn't control the defensive rebounds. It was a game where we were ineffective in two points. Just 41% in two points was not enough to win a game like this.”

Dubai Basketball now look ahead to their first ABA League game of the season away at Ilirija in Slovenia before returning to Coca-Cola Arena to play Crvena Zvezda in EuroLeague on 8 October.