By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz took an 83-78 win at Sinan Erdem Dome against Anadolu Efes thanks to a crazy shot from Rokas Giedraitis in the dying moments.
The Lithuanian had to shoot with the clock running down. He was going away from the basket and, with a one-legged fadeaway from beyond the arch, managed to put the ball through the rim for a five-point lead with 18 seconds to go. Efes couldn’t respond, so Baskonia got a third win in a row, ending the defending champions winning streak of five games.
The Vitoria team’s hero ended the match with 11 points, six rebounds, and three assists for a PIR of 18, making him the most valuable player of the winning side.
Marcus Howard was the top scorer of the Spanish team with 19 points, while Vanja Marinkovic erupted with an 18-point performance.
“Big win for us against two-time Euroleague champions. We played great as a team. In the last two weeks, we played very good defense, we were making under ten or seven turnovers, but we showed everybody that we are a team and can play outside,” Marinković said.
Vasilije Micic led the Turkish side with 17 points, Amath M’Baye followed him with 16, Will Clyburn added 15, and Rodrigue Beaubois had 10 points.
“Prestigious victory for our team, players, and fans at the home of two-time champions. We had a lot of respect in the beginning. We were soft in defense and had many problems in the first half passing the ball, with only two assists. That’s not how we play. We said we needed to change our energy, character, and defense at halftime, and the team played a very good second half,” the head coach of Baskonia, Joan Penarroya, said after the game
Anadolu Efes had a 46:36 lead at half-time thanks to a solid second-quarter performance, as they even led with plus 15. The guests responded well after the brake and turned the score around with a 12-2 run in the final minutes of the third period.
Ergin Ataman’s team came back and grabbed a 73-72 lead, but Baskonia answered with an 11-3 run, capped with Giedraitis’ three-pointer, and finally crushed their opponents’ spirit.
“Two different halves. In the first, we played perfectly, made a good shoot selection, attacked the paint, found a lot of pick en roll points, and rotated the ball perfectly. We made terrible decisions and ridiculous turnovers in the second half, especially in the final moments. We missed some open shots and gave them an opportunity at the last minute. Very bad loss. We were in very good shape, but basketball is a performance sport, and in the second half, our performance was terrible“, the head coach of Anadolu Efes, Ergin Ataman, stated after the game.