By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
In a crazy match in Istanbul, Maccabi Tel-Aviv beat Darussafaka on the road (66-70), however the Turks qualified to the top-16, as they lost by fewer than 12 points. This was the fifth win for the hosts (5-5), who finished fourth in group D and advanced to the top-16 for their first time in their history, whereas the visitors suffered their seventh defeat (3-7) and were eliminated.
For the winners, Sylven Landesberg had 14 points, with Jordan Farmar adding 13 points and seven rebounds. On the other hand, Furkan Aldemir scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds for the losing squad.
In the beginning, Darussafaka had control of the game (8-4, 15-9) and retained a small advantage until the end of the first quarter (23-19). Later, though, things changed. Maccabi enhanced its performance on both ends of the floor, outscored their opponents 12-19 and ended the first half in front by three points (35-38).
In the second half, the Israelis extended their lead to six points (38-44), but the Turks responded, made a 12-6 run of their own and cut the deficit to just one point, after 30 minutes in the game (49-50). The hosts started the fourth quarter with a 13-2 run, took a double-digit advantage (62-52), and were a step away from advancing to the next phase, as Maccabi was playing very badly both defensively and offensively. The visitors, though, made a 3-13 run and tied the game with one minute to go (65-65), as they were trying to lead the match to overtime. However, they ran out of time and one free throw by Reggie Redding let Darussafaka qualify to the top-16, despite Maccabi’s win (66-70).