By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Ante Zizic became 20 years old yesterday (4/1), is a EuroLeague rookie and just played his second match in the competition tonight (5/1). Yet his on-floor handiwork in Maccabi Tel Aviv – Darussafaka Dogus can easily be characterized as “breakthrough performance” in the highest level of basketball outside the NBA.
The Boston Celtics’ stash dropped 14 points (shooting 6/8 from the field) grabbed 9 rebounds and threw one block in the Turkish team’s narrow defeat by the “Yellows” in Tel Aviv. No turnovers for the Croatian big guy and 21 in PIR. The second best among his teammates.
His game impact expanded on both ends and his action goes beyond what numbers portray, since he tipped loose balls to his teammates for extra possessions and pulled big-time defenses against some of the most dangerous offensive players in EuroLeague (like Sonny Weems, as you can watch below).
Perhaps more importantly, he was present on court as key character during a major comeback his team accomplished from a 16-point deficit.
Watch his full-highlight reel!