By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Coming in with only one win over the last ten outings across all competitions, Tofas bounced back in style on Wednesday evening.
A home win, 90-81, against Lenovo Tenerife tied the best-of-three series of the Basketball Champions League Quarterfinals at 1-1.
“We knew we had to win to stay alive. We just fought. We just played as hard as we could and we got the victory,” mentioned Liberty product Caleb Homesley after tallying 17 of his 26 points in the second half, including eight points in the fourth quarter in Tofas Arena.
Experienced forward J.J. O’Brien followed with 21 points. Cassius Winston chipped in 19 points and five assists. Protecting homecourt in Game 2, the Bursa outfit snapped a three-game losing streak through all encounters opposite the two-time BCL champions. Game 3 will be held in Santiago Martin Arena next Wednesday.
Most offense in Tofas Arena was produced by Kyle Guy. Beyond improving his season-high with a silencing buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter, the former NCAA champion with Virginia ended up with 34 points in a losing effort for the team coached by Txus Vidorreta. Injured Jaime Fernandez and Sasu Salin were out.
Postgame press conference
Before focusing on Game 3, Tenerife hosts Surne Bilbao, looking to jump to 19-10 in Spain’s Liga Endesa on Saturday. At 10-16 in the Turkiye Sigorta Basketbol Super Ligi, Orhun Ene’s side travels to Mugla to face Cagdas Bodrum Spor on Sunday.
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League