Anadolu Efes hosted UNICS Kazan in the 5th week of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. Efes, the last champion under the management of Ergin Ataman, who entered the new season with a score of 4, knocked UNICS Kazan 71-68 at home and said ‘stop’ to the bad course. The jump ball of the match was made with a pink ball to raise awareness of early diagnosis in breast cancer. This year’s volunteer supporter of the “Pink Ball on the Field” project, implemented with the cooperation of Anadolu Efes and Anadolu Medical Center, was TV series actress Demet Özdemir.
Anadolu Efes hosted UNICS Kazan in the 5th week of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. Having lost the first 4 games of the season, Anadolu Efes made simple turnovers at the beginning of the match and fell back 12-8 in the 5th minute. The dark blue-white team, who could not cover the painted area, tried to hold on to the game with Pleiss’s baskets, but the first quarter was behind 22-18.
Starting the second period of the match with the field defense, Anadolu Efes prevented the opponent from scoring comfortably in the painted area. Finding the first 3-pointer in the game with Larkin, the home team turned the score in their favor with 23-22 in the 13th minute. Anadolu Efes, struggling with UNICS Kazan’s return to the field defense, could not prevent Hezonja’s three-pointer and fell 8 points in the 17th minute: 25-33. While the Russian team scored five of the eight three-pointers, Anadolu Efes was also able to seize one of the opportunities it found and went 37-32 into the locker room.
Starting the second half with good defense and not conceding points for 3 minutes, Anadolu Efes took the lead 38-37 in the 23rd minute with Beaubois’s basket under the basket. Despite the area’s defense, the navy blue-white team, who could not prevent Canaan’s three-point field goals, fell behind 51-44 in the 29th minute and finished the third period behind 51-47.
Having hardened its defense in the last quarter and supported by the fans, Anadolu Efes turned the score back in favor with Bryant’s three-pointer: 54-53. While the 35th minute of the match was a 56-56 draw, Anadolu Efes, pushing the bottom of the basket harder in the last section, got a 6-point advantage (64-58) in the 28th minute with Bryant’s basket. The dark blue-white team won the game 71-68 with the points they found with Moerman.
Having lost the first 4 matches of the season, last season’s champion Anadolu Efes achieved its first win in the league.
Hall: Sinan Erdem
Referees: Robert Lottermoser (Germany), Emilio Perez (Spain), Marcin Kowalski (Poland)
Anadolu Efes: Larkin 8, Beaubois 14, Tolga Geçim, Moerman 10, Pleiss 12, Erten Gazi 5, Bryant 14, Dunston 4, Singleton 2, Petrusev 2
UNICS Kazan: Lorenzo Brown 16, Vorontsevich, Hezonja 13, Brantley 4, Jekiri 8, Uzinskii 3, John Brown 5, Spissu 3, Mayo, Canaan 16
Anadolu Efes 18 – 22 Unics Win | 1st Quarter Results
Anadolu Efes 32 – 37 Unics Win | First Half Result
Anadolu Efes 47 – 51 Unics Win | 3rd Quarter Results
Anadolu Efes 71 – 68 Unics Kazan | The match result
Demet Özdemir made the jump ball with the pink ball
In Anadolu Efes-Unics Kazan match, the pink ball took off for the #Champion of Awareness “Breast Cancer Awareness”, which has emphasized the importance of early diagnosis in breast cancer since 2014. The successful actress and volunteer supporter of the project, Demet Özdemir, made the jump ball together with the pink ball.
