By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Following a heavy loss against Esenler Erokspor in the opening week of the 2026–27 FIBA Europe Cup Regular Season on Wednesday, Gence head coach Martin Knezevic targeted league management and the Turkish club after five of his players were injured when a hotel elevator collapsed.
The disaster forced the Azerbaijani team to play with a depleted ten-man rotation. Erokspor capitalised, taking an easy win against the shorthanded side.
Gence now faces immediate pressure in Group C. Under the tournament format, teams must endure ten matchups in a double-legged round-robin schedule. Only the top two from each group will make it to the next stage, where a new six-game schedule across four groups of four teams each determines the teams advancing to the Quarterfinals.
The blowout in Istanbul exposed massive friction off the court.
“Not surprised by the final score vs Erokspor tonight, considering 5 of our players were injured in a collapsed elevator at the team hotel last night – the same cheap hotel that Erokspor got for us. My guys fell 3 stories and are lucky to not have life-changing injuries,” shared Knezevic on a Facebook post. “And we still cut the lead to 10 at the end of the 3rd quarter. Oh, and thank you to FIBA for ignoring our request to postpone this game with multiple players out. You guys are the best.”
Knezevic and his players must put the trauma and the opening loss behind them. They host Kolossos H Hotels Collection on Tuesday at the Ganja Sports Palace. The home team will look to answer back, fix their rotation, and salvage their second-round hopes.
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