By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
After being found positive for COVID-19, Keenan Evans did not travel with his teammates to Turkey ahead of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 27 game versus defending champion Anadolu Efes. Confirmed positive for COVID-19, Roman Sorkin was ruled out as well.
“They are both very important players,” pointed out Israeli forward Oz Blayzer, “It will not be easy to cover them. We must focus on the players available. Everyone had to contribute more.”
Evans, 25, has averaged 8.0 points, 3.7 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per contest going through his first campaign in Europe’s premier club continental competition. At the domestic level, he is up to 11.1 points, 4.4 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals per Winner League contest.
“We will face one of the toughest teams in the league. Especially now, having won the Turkish Cup,” noted interim head coach Avi Even previewing the game versus Efes, “We have to be ready, alert, and play as strong as we can to come back with a win from a tough arena.”
Jake Cohen will remain available but will join the Israel national team immediately after the game. The Pennsylvania-born big man will compete in the 2023 FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers home-and-away series opposite Germany on Friday and Monday.
“We are playing a good team, but we have to focus on ourselves,” added Cohen, “If we play a good game we will give ourselves a chance to win, and if we don’t we won’t. They are a talented team.”
Photo Credit: EuroLeagueBasketball.net