By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
After blowing off such a large lead to subsequently lose the match, the Turkish team fell to a 10 – 11 record but remains eighth in the standings for now.
Like in the game vs Olympiacos, the man of the hour for Milano was Davide Pascolo who scored 15 points in the final 12 minutes, grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 4 assists. Along with Krunoslav Simon (15 points, 12 of them after the break, along with 6 rebounds, 4 assists) they breathed oxygen back to their team in the second half paving the way towards a grand victory.
Despite crumbling down in the last 15 minutes of the match, Darussafaka Dogus could still have survived its opponents’ incredible comeback efforts if Brian Wanamaker, Dacka’s top scorer in the match with 20 points, didn’t miss some crucial free throws during the last seconds. With the score 87 – 86 and four seconds to go, he went 1/2 from the line, thus Milano remained one crucial step ahead. He was 7/7 before.
20-year-old Ante Zizic was also a key character for the guests, particularly in the first half where he scored 10 out of his 18 points and grabbed 6 from the 8 rebounds with which he finished the match. He played a big part in Darussafaka going to the locker rooms ahead 38 – 51 but he didn’t spend much time on the floor during second half.
Dairis Bertans dropped 18 points for Dacka and Adrien Moerman 12, going nuts in the beginning of the third period where his team exploded to make it a 25-point game. But he and the rest of his squad then discovered that Milano (Rakim Sanders 10 points, 8 rebounds) wouldn’t simply give up.