Gigi Datome and Fenerbahce Ulker serve Brooklyn Nets too much Turkey

Regular custom for professional sports teams who miss the playoffs (i.e. the 2015 Boston Red Sox) is to try and play spoiler.

It's sort of a misery loves company, an "if I can't have good things, neither shall you".

Without any confirmation of ill will, there had to be some element of personal satisfaction for Luigi "Gigi" Datome on Monday. Fenerbahce Ulker, his Turkish national team, beat the Brooklyn Nets 101-96 in preseason play.

Luigi Damote is rebuilding his basketball legacy east of the prime meridian. After having a roughly two-month stand with the Boston Celtics during the 2014-15 season, Datome decided to abandon his aspirations to prove his ability to compete against NBA talent in exchange for more opportunity to leave the bench and actually play basketball.

Yet prove his worth against (marginal) NBA talent he did. On Monday he shot 5-12 in 30 minutes with 5 assists including 4-6 from distance.

Nets coach Lionel Hollins defended his team more handily than his team defended their competitors:

"My understanding is they've been practicing since September, and this is their fifth game," Nets coach Lionel Hollins said. "We've been practicing for five days, and this is our first game, so that's a big difference."

To be fair, this was only the first game for the Nets.

There is still time for their fortunes to get much better.

Or get much worse.

Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

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