By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
With Bryant Dunston doing work on both ends with 16 points and 9 rebounds, Anadolu Efes beat Olympiacos 64 – 60 in Istanbul and is now one game away from qualifying to a EuroLeague Final Four for the first time in the history of the club.
The Turkish team was up even by 17, 51 – 34, near the mid of the third period but the Reds amassed behind Vassilis Spanoulis (15 points, 7 assists, 8 rebounds) to almost complete an impressive comeback.
After a sequence of 3-pointers by its captain, the guests cut the deficit to 1, 61 – 60, but a pair of free throws by Thomas Heurtel’s and an off-target shot by Spanoulis sealed the outcome in Efes‘ favor.
Trailing 17 – 14 at the end of the first, coach Perasovic‘s players really pumped up their rhythm of the game in the second period by taking full advantage of their opponents’ turnovers (18 in total) and lackluster shooting (12/32 2-pointers, 9/23 3-pointers) to close halftime ahead 33 – 27.
Olympiacos was even sloppier after the break with poor decision making and a whole series of errors that Efes translated into points in transition until grabbing a 17-point lead, 51 – 34.
Giorgos Printezis and Ioannis Papapetrou made it a single-digit game, 53 – 49 and then Spanoulis took over to get his team close to a stunning comeback. But the hosts kept their calm near the end and never allowed Olympiacos to get the advantage.