By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Vitor Faverani dropped 18 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in his debut and Petteri Koponen added 11 out of his 20 in the last five minutes as Barcelona downed Anadolu Efes 89 – 78.
With this victory the Blaugrana ended a short two-game losing streak and now stand at a 8 – 10 record. Anadolu Efes now has the same win/loss ratio despite a 25 points EuroLeague career-high by a fantastic Brandon Paul.
Paul, together with Thomas Heurtel (18 points) also tried to make Efes dangerous again after falling behind with a 15-point deficit, 70 – 55 early in the fourth quarter. They both combined for 18 points in less than five minutes as the Turkish team made it 80 – 78 with two minutes to go.
Still, the answer for the hosts came by Koponen’s sharpshooting. The Finnish guard had preserved his team lead and then put his team back at a safe distance with the downtown bucket for the 85 – 78, two minutes before the final buzzer.
Victor Claver then sealed his team’s win, also with a hit from beyond the arc.
The match carried two completely different pictures in each of it halves since both teams performed poorly on offense before the break, going to the locker rooms with the score 33 – 34. Faverani’s eruption in the third quarter helped Barcelona enter the fourth period with a 63 – 53 lead. The Brazilian center showed why coach Bartzokas wanted to acquire him, being a force to be reckoned with on both ends.
Efes’ reaction and comeback attempt came perhaps late in the match, but still it could’ve been dangerous if not for Koponen who kept his team safe and sound.