By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
An intense battle came down the wire as Shane Larkin’s season-high helped Anadolu Efes outlast Baskonia on the road with a 111-101 overtime win for Round 33 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and now the Turkish side could seal a homecourt advantage for the upcoming playoffs, combined with other results.
After Baskonia got in charge in the mid-point of the fourth period, Efes reacted quickly to restore a one-point lead with 49 seconds remaining with Larkin hitting net from the three-point line. However, Luca Vildoza had the final say and sent the game to overtime with a three-pointer of his own at the final two seconds.
Larkin took the stage in the extra five-minute period to pace his team to the win with a 30-point performance (6-for-9 from afar), while Krunoslav Simon added up to his effort with 21 points, Vasilije Micic had 16 while Adrien Moerman tapped 14 points.
“This is basketball. Baskonia is a very good team and they won many games, especially in the last month, so it was a very important victory for us. Now only one more game. I think that we need to play the same way in Milano. And then to stay in the first four positions, which are extremely important for us”, said coach Ataman after the win.
With this win, Efes puts Baskonia’s playoffs hopes to trouble, as the hosts now fall to an 18-15 record and will need to depend on other results to fight another day in the race, despite another big-time performance by Achille Polonara, who dropped 23 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Rokas Giedraitis also had a major contribution for the hosts, adding 21 points.
Photo: EuroLeague