By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The next move for back-to-back Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion Anadolu Efes was to extend Erten Gazi. The young guard penned a contract for the next season with an option for one more season, the team announced Wednesday.
Gazi, 25, also celebrates his birthday today, as noted by the team based in Istanbul. In his second campaign as a member of the senior squad of Efes, he put up 0.5 points, 0.4 rebounds, 0.4 assists, and 0.1 steals per EuroLeague game, and 5.1 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.7 assists per BSL contest at the domestic level. After gaining NCAA experience at DePaul and Fordham, he returned to Efes in 2020 and has since been part of the senior squad.
Guided by Ergin Ataman, Efes went from salvaging the sixth seed in the Playoffs bracket of the EuroLeague to becoming the champion for the second season in a row. Edging out Olympiacos in the Semifinals and Real Madrid in the Finals got the job done in the season-ending Final Four held in Belgrade between 19 and 21 May. Back in Turkey’s league and as the second seed entering the Playoffs, it went the distance opposite Pinar Karsiyaka and Galatasaray Nef in the Quarterfinals and Semifinals, respectively, before falling to Istanbul rival Fenerbahce Beko in four games.
Before inking Gazi to a new 1+1 contract, the back-to-back EuroLeague champions extended Shane Larkin and Bugrahan Tuncer, and also added Will Clyburn for a head start to the offseason moves ahead of the 2022-23 season.