By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
Following Bahcesehir’s home victory in Game 1 of their BKT EuroCup Semi-Finals against Gran Canaria, with Marko Simonovic scoring 20 points for the Turkish side, the action moved to the islands.
Following a crazy sequence in the very last instants of Game 2, the 2022-23 BKT EuroCup champions managed to win 69-68 in front of their own fans, tying the series at 1-1 and forcing Game 3 back in Turkiye.
Everything happened in the remaining minutes of a closed encounter. With thirty seconds on the clock, the two teams were tied at 66-66 as the Montenegrin center went perfectly to his trip to the line.
A missed three-pointer by Nicolas Brussino almost allowed Bahcesehir to win the game and advance to the Finals. Jaka Lakovic’s team got distracted on defense as Marko Simonovic (10 points over 4/5 from two-point range) cut to the basket freely, dunking to give his team the lead.
However, Caleb Homesley quickly turned into Gran Canaria’s hero, perfectly executing the inbound action to secure a 2+1 winning play. That’s how the Spanish team tied the series.
Nicolas Brussino was Gran Canaria’s leading scorer at 18 points, followed by Mike Tobey’s 11 points and 8 rebounds; on the losing side, Furkan Korkmaz came off the bench to deliver 12 points (3/8 from three-point range) and 4 rebounds.
In the other series between Valencia and Hapoel Tel Aviv, Dimitris Itoudis’ team managed to force Game 3 by beating the Spanish side 101-96.
PHOTO CREDIT: BKT EuroCup