By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Anadolu Efes faced some intense resistance by a valiant Yesilgiresun, the Turkish League’s pleasant surprise, but in the end managed to prevail 82 – 75. This victory, along with Banvit’s first defeat of the season, in the hands of Gaziantep, brought them again in the first place of the standings with a 6 – 1 record (same as Banvit).
When it comes to Yesilgiresun this loss definitely didn’t hurt as much as Ricky Ledo‘s serious injury which looks like it may force him stay sidelined for quite some time.
Initially, Yesilgiresun stunned its hosts getting a 16 – 23 lead at the end of the first quarter. But coach Perasovic‘s players responded emphatically and even assumed a double-digit advantage, 44 – 33 at halftime.
Their opponents were highly persistent getting closer during the third period (62 – 57). With the score 73 – 71 after a basket by Malcolm Armstead and less than three minutes to go, Efes played some great defenses that helped make it 77 – 71 with 54 second left, thanks to 5 points courtesy of Thomas Heurtel and DeShaun Thomas. The American forward then dropped a key bucket to make it 80 – 73, 31 seconds before the final buzzer, sealing the outcome in favor of his team.
Thomas was generally his team’s best player with 21 points and 6 rebounds, while Jayson Granger and Cedi Osman added 17 points each. Anthony Gill had 21 for Yesilgiresun and Armstead contributed in many areas of the game with 15 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds.