Efes fends off Brno for 2-0 mark

Host side U18 Anadolu Efes Istanbul improved to 2-0 in the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Istanbul by fending off U18 Basket Brno 80-83. Koralp Turk led the way with 22 points while Yigit Tekin scored 18 points, Yunus Hamatoglu collected 16 points and 13 rebounds and Ozan Yilmaz had 7 points and 13 assists in the Group A game. The ANGT debutant Brno dropped to 0-2 in the group despite Ondrej Hustak and Petr Krivanek both scoring 14 points, Jakub Necas picking up 13 points and 10 rebounds and Matej Safarik adding 12 points.

Efes scored the first six points of the game as Brno did not get on the scoreboard in the first 3 minutes. Yilmaz hit a three-pointer and Tekin scored six quick points and Efes was up 6-17. The margin was 11-22 when Brno tallied the final six points of the quarter and trailed 17-22 after 10 minutes. The Czech team hit the first seven points of the second quarter and went ahead 24-22. And a Jan Polivka three-pointer made it 29-26. Efes punched back with a 0-11 run for a 29-37 lead and was up 33-39 at intermission.

Brno pulled to within 38-41 early in the second half only to see Efes go on a 4-13 run with Turk hitting two three-pointers for a 42-54 lead. Karahan Efeoglu added two baskets and the margin was 47-62, and Efes led 53-66 after 33 minutes. Adam Lukes and Krivanek both hit three-pointers as Brno got to within 65-70. And it was 73-76 after triples from Lukes and Safarik. Tekin pushed Efes back ahead 73-80 but Brno had one more comeback and Necas made it 77-80. Yilmaz would not let his team down though and scored a driving layup with 14 seconds left to secure the win.