By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Getting points by Errick McCollum was part of the deal and he delivered for Pinar Karsiyaka in the win, 91-88, over AEK Tuesday.
Connecting a three-point for a five-point cushion with 17.1 points left, the 34-year-old combo guard upped his total to 29 points, behind 7/13 field goals, including 5/6 triples. A big-time effort leading Ufuk Sarica’s side to 1-0 in Group B of the Basketball Champions League Regular Season. It has been a long way since introducing himself to the European stage in 2010, but this was his first appearance in the BCL.
The Karsiyaka Arena crowd also enjoyed Dominican center Angel Delgado posting a 17-point, 12-rebound double-double, part of the game-high 30 efficiency rating. Jaylon Brown produced 17 more points and Mindaugas Kuzminskas had 13 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists.
Tough break for the lasting Champions League original leading for about 12 minutes but falling short in Round 1 of the four-team group. Six players of Ilias Kantzouris got all the points, all went into double-digits. Akil Mitchell logged a team-high 19 points facing his former team. Injured Dimitris Flionis sat out alongside Vassilis Xanthopoulos.
The Greek side, among the five teams tipping off the seventh campaign in the Champions League this week, fell to 0-1 in the group. This was the first official game for the Queen in the 2022-23 season with Greece’s Basket League Regular Season Round 1 coming this weekend. Karsiyaka is up 1-0 in Turkey’s BSL.
Postgame press conference:
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League