By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
With the “hellish” atmosphere of Abdi Ipkeci empowering the team’s efforts, Galatasaray covered the 10-point difference with which it had lost in the first quarterfinal and advanced to the best four teams in Eurocup by winning Bayern Munich 72 – 59. This is the first time that the “Cimbom” will play in the competitions’ semifinal after 2008.
Now the Turkish squad is waiting to find out who between Gran Canaria and Zielona Gora will face in the next stage. The Spaniards have a huge advantage in the series, since they had won the first game 82 – 93 on the road.
Blake Schilb was the top performer for Galatasaray with 11 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals and zero turnovers for 21 in the ranking system. For Bayern Munich, Deon Thompson had the most noteworthy game, finishing the game with 14 points and 5 rebounds.
By applying intense pressure all over the court, the hosts forced their opponents into making no less than 15 (!) turnovers in the first half, which ended 43 – 25. But the Bavarian team refused to give up and entered the third period ready to fight back and reduced the deficit to single digits.
Everything was up for grabs in the fourth quarter and the qualification was decided in the very last seconds. While Thompson dropped the basket for the 68 – 59, 50 seconds before the end of the game, Chuck Davis and Errick McCollum were combined for 4/4 free throws while their team didn’t allow any points in the remaining time of the game. Bayern Munich failed to find a proper shot during the last plays, and Galatasaray grabbed the ticket to the semifinals.