By Eurohoops Team / info@eurohoops.net
KIROBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz picked up its second win of the new Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season, as they blew out Darussafaka Tekfen Istanbul at home (82-56).
Toko Shengelia with 13 points and Darrun Hilliard with 12 were the top scorers of a balanced effort by the winners who didn’t feel any real pressure during the game.
Both teams played tough defense in the first period which ended with the score being 14-16 in favor of Darussafaka. By the end of the first half, however, the hosts were leading by eight points (38-30) and that was just the start of it.
With an impressive 20-6 run at the start of the third period, Pedro Martinez’s squad went up by 22 points (58-36) and since that point, the game was pretty much over. Shengelia’s impressive nine-point scoring run was a crucial factor to Baskonia’s great start in the second half. In just 17 minutes of playing time, the 27-year old superstar grabbed also six rebounds, while ten players of Baskonia scored.
“We knew Baskonia was a good team in the open court and can also grab offensive rebounds. In the first quarter we were in the game, but in the second period we gave up a 14-run and the first half finished like that. Our decisions in the second half weren’t good, but Baskonia also played really tough defense,” said Darussafaka’s head coach, Ahmet Arif Caki after the game.
Ilimane Diop’s dunks and Jayson Granger’s tough defense led the Spanish side to an even larger lead (64-41) to end the third quarter. Since 28′, the visitors could not respond and could not hit a three-point shot (5/25 3FG). Along with their shooting struggles (33.8% FG), the visitors also turned the ball over twenty (!) times.
In the fourth quarter, Baskonia was playing extremely well on both sides of the court, and at some point, they even led by 29 points (79-50).
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