By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Anadolu Efes was victorious in the first game against UNICS Kazan, but the Russian team got back at them with interest in a 75-67 home win.
After 18 Rounds of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague, Unics improved to 11-7 while Efes now holds a 9-9 record.
Although Efes recovered from the initial dominance of Unics (17-0) and made it a one-possession game during the third quarter (52-49), John Brown sparked an 8-0 run which was crucial in their path to victory.
John Brown was without a doubt the man of the match for the hosts as he put on a strong and complete performance on both sides of the floor. He led the defensive grit but also shined on offense with 20 points on 8-12 shooting.
He also logged five steals, three rebounds, two assists while drawing seven fouls and avoiding any turnovers for a total PIR of 28. Andrey Vorontsevich added 12 points while Mario Hezonja, Marco Spissu, and Isaiah Cannan scored nine each.
For Efes, which couldn’t count on Vasilije Micic who unfortunately twisted his ankle before the game, Shane Larkin delivered 17 points, nine boards, four assists (six turnovers) while Bruant Dunston had 15 (eight boards) and Chris Singleton 11 points.
You don’t best the champs every day
Coach Velimir Perasovic was quite satisfied with his team as, although they didn’t play as well as they know to, they got the win against the reigning champions, which is never an easy task.
“I feel very good because we played against the EuroLeague champion. Looking like we played in the beginning, it looked like an easy advantage, but it has not been easy. Finally, in the last quarter, we played really good defense. Some guys, especially John Brown and Spissu in the final minute, but the whole team worked hard, and for us, it is a great victory. In the moments that they started to play good, we kept calm and didn’t go down on the scoreboard, they never took the advantage. It is important for our psychology; when they went on a run, they never took the lead. The last quarter was, as always, more important and we played really good. The fans were very good today. I think that, with our victories, more fans are coming. I hope they support us every day like they did today.”
A smile was brought to Brown’s face as well.
“It was my night! We got the win, that’s more important, but we still have some things to focus on, little mental lapses, but we should be fine. Everything is wonderful – smiling and ready to go for the next game.”