Perez leads Turk Telekom to first win

Turk Telekom Ankara won its Group A opener 73-65 over Boulogne Metropolitans 92 in the Turkish capital on Tuesday. Alex Perez paced the winners with 18 points and a club-record 13 assists, Octavius Ellis and Dorukhan Engindeniz each scored 12 and Sanmey Geyik had 10 for Turk Telekom. Will Cummings led Metropolitans with 26 points, Steeve Ho-You-Fat added 12 and Tomer Ginat 10. Perez, Engindeniz and Berk Demir each struck from downtown late in the first quarter to give Turk Telekom a 24-22 lead after 10 minutes. Ho-You-Fat stepped up for Metropolitans and got plenty of help from Cummings to put the visitors ahead 36-42 at halftime. Metropolitans still led 47-53 late in the third quarter, but Octavius Ellis and Perez combined for 12 points in a 14-0 run that put Turk Telekom ahead for good, 61-53.

Aubrey Dawkins got Turk Telekom going with a triple and got help from JaJuan Johnson and Geyik for a 7-4 edge. Cummings stepped up with a three-point play before Vince Hunter and Ginat each scored around the basket to give Metropolitans its first lead, 9-11. Johnson shined with an off-balance layup. After Geyik and Lahaou Konate exchanged jumpers, Ginat's backdoor basket put his team ahead 13-15. Perez, Engindeniz and Demir each hit a three-pointer but Cummings kept Metropolitans close at 24-22 after 10 minutes.

Miralem Halilovic hit a jump hook early in the second quarter and Ho-You-Fat struck twice from beyond the arc, but Ellis got the hosts within 28-30. Ho-You-Fat buried his third three-pointer and Nobel Boungou-Colo scored in transition, which caused the hosts to stop the game at 28-36. Geyik followed a jumper with a one-handed slam and soon added a close basket that made it 34-38. Demir scored around the basket, but Cummings boosted Metropolitans's lead to 36-42 at halftime.

Perez scored again soon after the break and Johnson brought Turk Telkom within 40-42. Ginat rescued Metropolitans with a floater and Jordan McRae took over with a reverse layup for a 40-46 score. Perez followed a jumper with an acrobatic layup, but Konate and Cummings kept the visitors ahead, 44-51. Engindeniz struck twice from beyond the arc to bring Turk Telekom within 3. Perez found Ellis for a layup that got the hosts even closer, 52-53, after 30 minutes.

Engindeniz buried his fourth three-pointer to complete the hosts' comeback, 55-53, early in the fourth quarter. Ellis scored twice in the paint, forcing Metropolitans to call a much-needed timeout at 59-53. Ellis capped a 14-0 run with another layup, as Cummings tried to change things with a jumper. Perez quickly erased it with a one-handed jumper in the lane and fed Demir for a layup that made a double-digit game, 65-55. A red-hot Perez hit a jumper that Vince Hunter matched with a wild dunk off a steal. Ginat scored in transition and Cummings did better with a triple, giving Metropolitans hope, 67-62, with 3 minutes left. Perez rescued the hosts with a big three-pointer and Harrison also struck from downtown to seal the outcome.

Perez smashes Turk Telekom record

Alex Perez led Turk Telekom Ankara to a win in its opening game of the 7DAYS EuroCup season. Perez set a new club record with 13 assists against Boulogne Metropolitans 92. Tutku Acik held the previous record with 11 assists against CEZ Nymburk on February 2, 2010. Reggie Redding is the only other player with double digits in assists in a Turk Telekom jersey; he had 10 against Valencia Basket on November 14, 2018. Perez did a lot more than that. He scored 18 points to record a double-double, hitting 6-of-7 two-point shots and 2-of-5 from downtown, and also had rebounds, 4 steals and 3 fouls drawn for a game-high PIR of 31.

Ho-You-Fat, not your average rookie

It is not usual that a player makes his 7DAYS EuroCup debut at age 33 and Steeve Ho-You-Fat of Boulogne Metropolitans 92 proved to be anything but your average newcomer. Ho-You-Fat came off the bench and made things happen for Metropolitans against Turk Telekom Ankara, burying 3 three-point shots in the second quarter. In less than 14 minutes on the floor, Ho-You-Fat had 12 points on 3-of-3 three-point shooting plus 2 rebounds and 4 fouls drawn for a PIR of 14, the team's second-highest in this game. Ho-You-Fat waited for this moment for a long time and proved his value right away.

Metropolitans has higher PIR, Turk Telekom wins

It is not very often that a team finishes a game with a higher PIR and loses, but this is exactly what Boulogne Metropolitans 92 did in its 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season opener against Turk Telekom Ankara. Metropolitans had a team PIR of 82 and Turk Telekom only had 74, but the final score read 73-65 and ultimately, that is all that matters. Turk Telekom shot the ball better and that made the difference in the game. Both teams took 39 two-point shots, but Turk Telekom hit 22 of those (56.4%) and Metropolitans only 18 (46.1%). The hosts buried 9-of-23 three-pointers (39.1%) and Metropolitans struggled from downtown, shooting 5 for 18 (27.8%).