By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
VITORIA-GASTEIZ — Shane Larkin put on a memorable performance and with Vasilije Micic’s help led Anadolu Efes to a 92-73 win over Fenerbahce Beko and to their first-ever Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final.
Larkin nailed game-high 30 points while shooting 4-5 for two and 5-9 for three. He also grabbed seven rebounds and dished seven assists along with two steals on his way to record-breaking 43 PIR and the best Final Four performance ever. Micic was right behind with 25 points (7-9 for two, 3-6 for three) and five boards.
James Anderson added ten points while for Fenerbahce, Jan Vesely scored 14 points in addition to Erik Green’s 13 and Nikola Kalinic‘s 12 points.
Both squads were locked in from the start and hit their first five shots from deep early on. Efes created a small 11-5 lead but Fener recovered and finished the first quarter with the minimal 20-19 lead after Kostas Sloukas‘ triple. Micic pushed Efes to 29-22 with seven of his nine first-half points which, along with Larkin’s 11 points and six boards, were the main reason for their teams’ 45-40 advantage at the halftime.
Efes‘ backcourt continued where they left off after the break as well, especially Larkin who nailed 11 points in the third quarter to give his team a 68-57 lead in front of the final ten minutes. Micic had another good start of the quarter scoring five straight points and went going together with Larkin as they left no comeback chance to Fenerbahce.