By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Almost ten years after playing his previous Euroleague game, Andrea Bargnani marked his return to the top continental championship with a fantastic performance, leading Baskonia to a 85 – 84 thrilling victory over Anadolu Efes.
“El Mago” was true to his nickname, scoring 26 points with 10/14 field goals. He actually began by making 9/9 buckets before missing his first shot. He was responsible for the Basques staying close to their opponents when the latter preserved a small, yet steady upper hand in the match thanks to Derrick Brown (16 points) and Cedi Osman (13 points).
But ultimately, the heroic… game-winning point came by the hands of Tornike Shengelia (16 points, 9 rebounds). With 5 seconds to go and the score tied, the Georgian power forward won a foul, making 1/2 from the line.
It proved to be more than enough since Bryce Cotton (13 points) missed the downtown shot that could have won the match for Anadolu Efes.
The clash was up for grabs until the very last… millisecond since both squads had a fair share of ups and downs in their performance during the last quarter. When the Turkish team entered the fourth period leading 73 – 68, Johannes Voigtmann (12 points, 8 rebounds) led a 11-1 comeback run, but Efes balanced the scales through aggressive plays by Deshaun Tomas (9 points) and Bryant Dunston (11 points).
In the end, it was all about the difference making detail. That belonged to Sito Alonso’s team and the Spanish coach rose victorious in his first Euroleague match after 2008.