By Antonis Stroggylakis / info@eurohoops.net
After claiming Turkish League regular season MVP at just 18 years of age, NBA Draft prospect Alperen Sengun made quite the noise in the first playoffs game of his career.
In his postseason debut, Sengun flirted with the triple-double, finishing with 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in 32:14 minutes to help Besiktas beat Tofas Bursa 92 -90 on the road following comeback from down 22. If the game went to overtime, the Turkish big man and projected lottery pick would likely be triple-double bound.
Just being this close to the triple-double is very impressive considering how extremely rare the achievement is in European basketball. To put things in perspective, there have been only nine triple-doubles in the entire history of the Turkish league.
In the win over Tofas, Sengun shot 7-12 2-pointers and 8-11 free throws. He also had four steals while committing seven turnovers.
During the fourth period and when the bulk of Besiktas’ comeback took place, Sengun delivered a couple of nifty highlights in crucial moments as well. Like this chasedown block for a huge crunch-time defense.
Early in the fourth period, Sengun finished a coast-to-cast with an assist, a not-so-usual move from a player of his size and age.
He also threw down this hammer, beginning his drive to the basket with a move that was somewhat reminiscent of Dejan Bodiroga’s “el latigo.”