By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
The NBA preseason continued Thursday with three showdowns and a few European names standing out, but none other had more impact than Alperen Sengun.
The Houston Rockets might have fallen to the Miami Heat 113-106, though Sengun was once again solid in his second pre-season display, helping his team with 9 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and one impressive block in 18 minutes coming from the bench.
Sengun, 19, a rookie in the league that barely speaks English lets his games speak louder than him, even though he has a small ritual before hitting free throws as it seems.
Just two games in the pre-season, the Turkish big has accumulated 14 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals in 31 minutes total, a solid start that has fans already cheering for him!
His Turkish counterpart Omer Yurtseven posted 8 points and 4 rebounds coming from the bench for the Heat, while Daniel Theiss signed off with 10 points for the Rockets.
Furkan Korkmaz had 5 points, 3 assists in Philadelphia’s 125-113 victory against the Raptors and Svi Mykhailiuk kept up his reliable displays with 11 points in 19 minutes for the Toronto side.
The Memphis Grizzlies went 2-0 in the preseason thanks to the efforts of Steven Adams (15 points, 16 rebounds) and Desmond Bane (19 points), as they made short work of the Charlotte Hornets on the road.