By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Vasilje Micic had an impressive double-double (15 p. 12 r.), Krunoslav Simon scored 19 points and when all was said and done, Anadolu Efes prevailed on the road against Valencia (83-78).
The guests were trailing until the 25th minute, but they turned things around in the third period which ended with a partial score of 30-15 in favor of Efes.
“Tonight, it was our basketball”, commented Ergin Ataman. “Tonight, Larkin, Beaubois, and Simon – who were injured and did not play in the first game – they played tonight and we started playing closer to our regular basketball. We started the season without two or three injured players, and we did not play our basketball”.
The hosts got a 46-39 lead after the first twenty minutes of action behind a great first half by Bojan Dubljevic (12 p. 5 r.).
However, Anadolu Efes reacted with a 15-7 run at the start of the third quarter and Micic gave to his team a 54-53 lead. The momentum totally changed, Efes entered the last period with a 69-63 lead and kept everything in check until the final buzzer.
Alec Peters scored also 15 crucial points for the winners, Shane Larkin added 13 and Bryant Dunston had 10. “We held them to 17 points in the third quarter; that was an emphasis at halftime”, said Peters. “They scored way too many points in the first half. We knew we had to get a good start in the third quarter. We have a lot of guys who can put the ball in the basket on any given night. We had some high-scoring games so far, and the hope is that we keep playing well, everyone keeps staying in the rhythm and then any different guy on each night can step up and do well.”
Dubljevic finished the game with 22 points, Sam Van Rossom scored 14 and Brock Motum with 11 was the only other player of Valencia in double digits.
The Spanish team remains on the bottom of the league standings as the only team with a 0-3 record, while Efes enjoys a solid 2-1 start.
Mistakes kill
Valencia coach Jaume Ponsarnau needs to turn things around as his team is the only one left without a win.
And while he have seen the effort of his players, he also noted their mistakes: “We started with a lot of intensity and a lot of desire to run. We found a way to play and get buckets in the first half, but the third quarter was very bad. We have not been able to manage the way we have gone out of the locker room, and they played very comfortably. They found the corners and we did not find ourselves in the game. This is what happens when you play very good teams, as Efes is. When you make a little bit of a mistake, they use it to kill you. I am satisfied with the effort that we made, but obviously not with the lack of concentration that we had during the game.”
Photo credit: EuroLeague