By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
At around 2:30 AM local time, during resting hours for Anadolu Efes, a visit by hooligans, using firecrackers outside the hotel to disrupt the sleep of players and coaches, disrupted the team based in Istanbul ahead of Game 5 of a best-of-five series opposite Panathinaikos Aktor.
Efes reported the incident later Tuesday morning.
The noise in the middle of the night naturally forced several players, coaches, and other team members to wake up well ahead of the initial schedule, a few hours before the last meeting with the Greens in the Playoffs of the 2024-25 installment of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
Due to the projected light, the assumption was that the hooligans were supporters of Panathinaikos.
The disturbance was brief, with the gathered people immediately leaving the area.
After splitting wins in the Greek capital, they went on to split wins again in Istanbul, leading to a win-or-go-home contest in OAKA Altion on Tuesday night.
The winner of Game 5 will advance to the Final Four. Fenerbahce Beko corresponds to the Semifinals matchup in Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena on May 23.
Besides Rodrigue Beaubois remaining unavailable for the team coached by Luca Banchi due to a calf injury, all remaining players have been medically cleared for Game 5, including PJ Dozier (right hand), Vincent Poirier (hand), and Ercan Osmani (leg).
For the team coached by Ergin Ataman, former Efes boss, Marius Grigonis (back surgery) and Mathias Lessort (left leg surgery) are stuck on the injury list.