Galatasaray holds off Buducnost in OT

In a game which saw neither team lead by more than 8 points, Galatasaray Doga Sigorta Istanbul pulled out a thrilling 84-83 overtime win over visiting Buducnost VOLI Podgorica on Wednesday night. Galatasaray improved to a 3-1 record in Group D, while Buducnost remained winless at 0-4. The visitors had a shot to win the game at the end of regulation, and three shots to win it in overtime, but Galatasaray prevailed. Greg Whittington paced the winners with 20 points and 9 rebounds, and Zach Auguste added 18 points plus 8 rebounds. Aaron Harrison scored 13, Ben Moore fought his way for 12 points, while Lazeric Jones dished 10 assists for Galatasaray. Justin Hobbs and Scott Bamforth scored 20 apiece for Buducnost, with Cobbs also dishing 9 assists. Danilo Nikolic had 14 points and 8 rebounds, Hassan Martin collected a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds, while Martins Meiers also had 10 points in defeat.

Galatasaray went on its first run in the opening quarter when Harrison nailed a three-pointer to spark a 9-0 run. Two put-backs by Auguste and a three from Whittington helped make it 18-11. Buducnost answered with 7 straight points, including a three-point play by Meiers to tie the game late in the first quarter, before Luka Bozic hit a triple early in the second to put Buducnost in front 24-25. Caner Erdeniz answered with a triple to start a 7-0 run, before Danilo Nikolic scored 5 points in a 0-7 run on the other end, making it 31-32. Bamforth and Cobbs each added 5 more points the rest of the quarter, keeping Buducnost with the lead, 42-44, at halftime. The teams traded blows in the second half, with Whittington hitting a three-pointer for the hosts, and Tai Webster and Auguste adding to the tally, but Martin and Bamforth had the answers to keep Buducnost in front. Whittington's corner triple made it 59-57, and Harrison hit another from long range to help extend Galatasaray's lead to 66-60 going into the fourth quarter. But Cobbs scored 6 points taking it to the hoop, and Bamforth nailed a catch-and-shoot three-pointer to restore Buducnost’s lead, 72-73 with 4 minutes left. Webster made a runner and Auguste slammed home an alley-oop dunk to make it 76-73, as the visitors failed to score for almost 4 minutes. But Cobbs nailed a triple with 13.1 seconds remaining to tie at 76-76 and send the game into overtime. Jones dished an alley-oop pass and scored himself for the hosts, but Nikolic's three-point play had Buducnost in front, 82-83, with 1:21 to go. Whittington answered with a put-back that made it 84-83, and although Buducnost had three possessions in the final minute to take the game, Galatasaray held on.

First extra session

It took four weeks, but this was finally the very first overtime game of this EuroCup season. Last time we watched overtime in the competition was as recently as Game 2 of the EuroCup Finals between Valencia Basket and ALBA Berlin last season.

Thrilling ending(s)

With things tied at 76-76, Buducnost had 13.1 seconds at the end of regulation to win the game, but Justin Cobbs missed a potential last-second game-winner. At the end of overtime, Buducnost had the final possession again, and Cobbs missed a shot again. Danilo Nikolic caught a long rebound, and attempted a jumper at the buzzer himself, but hit the front rim.

Free throw problems

Zach Auguste was one of Galatasaray's heroes, but missed all 4 of his free throws in the final 30 seconds of regulation, allowing Buducnost to tie the game, then have a possession to win. Galatasaray shot 17 of 27 from the free throw line, while Buducnost made 18 of 19 foul shots.

EuroCup premier

Next up

In Round 5 next Wednesday, Buducnost hosts EWE Baskets Oldenburg, while Galatasaray goes on the road to play Asseco Arka Gdynia.