By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Dealing with the eruption of Rodrigue Beaubois and buzzer beaters to end both the second and third quarters, Partizan Mozzart Bet dug its way out of a double-digit hole to defeat Anadolu Efes, 82-79, Friday.
James Nunnally tucked in a huge three-pointer for a four-point lead with 15 seconds left and followed up by sinking a couple of free throws with 11.1 seconds remaining in the back-and-forth Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 14 affair. Pouring 12 points in the fourth quarter, he shared a team-high 18 points with Dante Exum and Kevin Punter.
“I tried to explain to my players in halftime that they need to believe in themselves. And they played with big energy. They beat the European champion,” Zeljko Obradovic described coming back from a 10-point deficit, “This victory, in many ways, is very important for us. More important it’s for these people [signals the crowd]. They always help the team. No matter the results they are always here to support the team.”
Both teams were coming off a loss at the top end of the double-game week. Ataman’s side initially came back from an early seven-point deficit but eventually fell to 7-7. Beaubois scoring a EuroLeague personal-best 30 points was not enough. Ante Zizic logged a season-high 20 points but his former Maccabi teammate Nunnally made the difference in crunch time. Vasilije Micic was slowed down by an ankle injury in the first quarter and finished with 14 points behind 4/14 field goals.
“The turnovers killed us one more time,” Ergin Ataman referred to 13 team turnovers in the return to Stark Arena after lifting the EuroLeague trophy for a second season in a row, just over six months ago, “Congratulations. They played a lot more aggressively. We must have better organization.”
“I would like to say that this EuroLeague is very tough, every game is like a final. When we won important games, our players were perfect. When we lost these kinds of games, it is my responsibility. I am a very bad coach. I don’t know how to organize my team. So, it’s my mistake we lost this one,” the Turkish tactician sarcastically added in the postgame press conference, “I am a very bad coach, so I don’t think we can win [the championship] this year.”
Packing a double-digit PIR in all games of the EuroLeague season so far, Mathias Lessort extended the streak with 13 points and five rebounds highlighting the PIR of 15. Tallying 11 of his points after the break, the French center fueled the comeback and ignited the crowd.
Narrowly avoiding the sixth consecutive loss in Europe’s premier club continental competition, the hosts went up to 5-9. “Obviously, we were on a losing streak. It was much needed to take care of home court,” mentioned Punter, “It was nice to close this out at home.”
“It was just about hitting shots. We hit shots in that fourth quarter. Then, it was just about focusing in that last minute to make sure we secure the win,” added Exum.
Cleared for both his season and EuroLeague debut after recovering from a hand injury, but Aleksa Avramovic did not leave the Partizan bench. Balsa Koprivica (hand) stayed on the injury list with Gregor Glas and Vladimir Brodziansky scratched as well.
Yet to debut in the 2022-23 EuroLeague season, Shane Larkin (leg) was unavailable for the visitors. Captain Dogus Balbay alongside fellow Turkish players Omer Can Ilyasoglu, Egemen Guven, and Bugrahan Tuncer were all sidelined as well.
Projected to feature additional domestic players, the Istanbul outfit will take on Tofas gunning to go up to 8-3 in Turkey’s BSL Sunday. The next EuroLeague challenge is against Panathinaikos in Sinan Erdem Dome Friday.
As for Partizan switching to AdmiralBet ABA League, it will play host to FMP Meridian in a bid to improve to 9-2 in the regional league Monday. Coming up next is a visit to Fenerbahce Beko Thursday.
Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net