By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
It took Anadolu Efes 37 years to win in Barcelona against the local team and tonight’s victory couldn’t have come in a more timely fashion.
With Vladimir Stimac tying his EuroLeague career-high in points with 22 and registering a new career-best in PIR with 29, Efes beat their opponents 89 – 85 on the road, far easier than what the final score implies and celebrated their first win in the 2017-2018 campaign.
“I liked that we played like a team tonight. This win means a lot. This is not a way to finish the game. But we won and we are very happy for it. Now we have to prepare for the Turkish League game and the next EuroLeague game,” said Stimac in the post-game flash interview.
The Serbian center also grabbed 8 rebounds, dominating on both ends. With Errick McCollum’s (21 points) and Ricky Ledo’s (season-high 21 points plus 5 rebounds) valuable assistance, he and his teammates never looked back after grabbing an early advantage 15 – 26 at the end of the first quarter.
After trailing with double figures, Barcelona balanced the game a bit thanks to Kevin Seraphin (19 points in 22 minutes) but remained at a distance. Efes retained control of the situation throughout the remainder of the match and pretty much secured its win after making it a 15-point affair, 61 – 76 with five minutes remaining.
The Blaugrana tried to salvage whatever they could but only managed to make their deficit appear more presentable while falling to a 2-4 record. Thomas Heurtel had 12 points and 9 assists against his former team, Victor Claver scored 12 and Petteri Koponen 10.