By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Anadolu Efes led from start to finish and beat Bayern Munich 81 – 76 in a postponed game for Round 19 of the EuroLeague regular season. The defending EuroLeague champions got closer to clinching the fifth seed ahead of the playoffs while their opponents will enter the quarterfinals at the eighth spot to face top-placed Barcelona.
This result also “locked” the seventh place for playoffs newcomer AS Monaco.
Shane Larkin scored 20 points, Adrien Moerman added 17 points plus six rebounds, Krunoslav Simon dropped 13 points while Bryant Dunston finished with 10 points and seven rebounds for Efes. The Turkish side, that was without reigning MVP Vasilije Micic, held double-digit advantages multiple times in the game, but rarely managed to keep Bayern at a truly safe distance.
“We know what it takes to win championships,” Larkin said. “We know this is the most important time of the season to be playing well. And we’ve been doing it for a few years. So at this time of the year, we’re always dangerous. We’re a legitimate title contender every single year. We’re in the same situation this year. We’ve just got to go in and play hard in every game, take it a game at a time and try to win another title.”
Bayern made its final push down the stretch after trailing 79 – 69 to cut the deficit to 79 – 75 with 33 seconds to play. Larkin made 2-2 from the line while Vladimir Lucic with Zan Mark Sisko missed in consecutive 3-point attempts.
Augustine Rubit led Bayern with 17 points and Sisko added 11 points plus five assists. Veteran center Othello Hunter scored seven and reached the 2,000-point milestone in his EuroLeague career.
“I want to congratulate Efes and Coach Ergin [Ataman] for a great game,” Bayern coach Andrea Trinchieri said. “I believe they played a playoff game. We competed. I believe we gave our best for today; it was not enough. Sometimes there is also an opponent that plays better.”
A credit for the strong effort
Anadolu Efes coach Ergin Ataman commended Bayern and coach Trinchieri for the battle they put on the road against his team.
“We controlled the whole game, but Bayern was always in the game, too,” Ataman said. “Coach Andrea [Trinchieri] made an excellent job with this team. They never give up. Always, they followed us. We tried to break the game many times; we weren’t successful. We gave up a lot of offensive rebounds, and extra points after them, but anyway it’s an important victory for us before the playoffs. Now, we will see after the next games which team we will match up against in the playoffs.”