By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Both sides avoiding the elimination scare with help from Telekom Baskets Bonn, AEK dominated the second half to defeat Pinar Karsiyaka, 80-72, behind closed doors in Ano Liosia Olympic Hall Wednesday.
Facing his former team, Virginia product Akil Mitchell scored 17 of his 25 points after the break. Grabbing 14 rebounds shaped his first double-double in the Basketball Champions League. Three steals also helped in a towering efficiency rating of 30 in the Regular Season Gameday 6 fixture.
The visitors were up 35-10 midway through the second period but were outscored heavily the rest of the way, including 56-32 in the second half.
Putting more fuel into the crazy comeback, Janis Strelnieks produced all of his 13 points in the second half and dished out a team-high five assists. Kenny Williams with 13 more points helped in the push to a finish of 3-3 in Group B. Experienced center Dimitris Mavroeidis was not available.
For Ufuk Sarica’s side, Jaylon Brown topped the scoring list with 17 points in Athens. Former AEK swingman Braian Angola followed with 11 points. For a team-high efficiency rating of 17, Angel Delgado had eight points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block.
The Queen, guided by Ilias Kantzouris secured the second seed and the homecourt advantage in the best-of-three Play-In series against Tofas Bursa. Down to 2-4 and in a favorable tiebreaker with UnaHotels Reggio Emilia, Karsiyaka got the third seed and a matchup versus UCAM Murcia.
Postgame press conference:
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League