By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Anadolu Efes nailed 12 triples led by Vasilije Micic on their way to a 75-68 home win over Barcelona Lassa which struggled offensively in Game 1 of EuroLeague playoffs.
Micic banked 21 points including four shots from behind the arc while adding seven assists, three rebounds and a steal. Shane Larkin and Adrien Moerman followed with 12 points each.
For Barcelona, Ante Tomic scored 14 points in addition to Kevin Pangos and Thomas Heurtel’s 12 points each.
The hosts opened the game better with great ball movement which led to them nailing five shots from deep and grabbing a 26-15 lead after ten minutes. The tables turned in the second quarter as Pangos banked ten points and sparked Barca’s 17-6 run to tie the game (32-32). However, Efes responded with two triples and eventually went on the halftime rest with a 40-36 advantage.
The three-point shooting kept being the main difference between the two sides as Efes stayed in the groove while the Spaniards had trouble making their shots. Efes went ahead 58-49 in front of the third quarter and although Barca had a late surge cutting the gap to five points (71-66), the home team held on with good defense and offensive rebounding.
Coach Ergin Ataman was proud of his players. “I am proud of my players, congrats to them. We played a really aggressive game, we played a perfect game. Similar to what we played during the whole season, aggressive on defense, we moved the ball in the offense. But it is 1-0 and we have to continue to play this basketball in the second game. I am very satisfied with the defense in the first quarter. We were softer in the second quarter and we lost our tempo. But the entire second half we played good defense. It is a clear win and I hope we will continue to play the same basketball”, he said.
He also gave some extra credit to Bryant Dunston and found one fact in particular intriguing: “Our shooters couldn’t make the open shots, while Dunston made one which was interesting. Besides, he stepped up with 3 blocks in the last quarter. It was truly an important performance for such a game.”
It has to be noted that Barcelona was missing French big man Kevin Seraphin.