2018-19Regular SeasonRound 26
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv 71
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 79
March 14, 2019 CET: 20:05
Local time: 21:05 MENORA MIVTACHIM ARENA

Strong second half leads Efes past Maccabi

Anadolu Efes Istanbul gained a huge road victory with a 71-79 triumph at Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv in a battle loaded with playoff significance at Menora Mivtachim Arena. The visiting team strengthened its grip on fourth place with a 17-9 record and is now on the verge of playoff qualification, while Maccabi remains in the bottom half of the standings at 12-14. Maccabi led nearly the whole of the first half, but Efes was strong after the break and restricted the host to just 30 second-half points. Vasilije Micic led the scoring for the winning team with 15 points, while Shane Larkin, Rodrigue Beaubois and Adrien Moerman all scored 13 and Tibor Pleiss added 12. The game's leading scorer was Maccabi's Tarik Black with 18 points and Johnny O'Bryant posted 13 points and 7 rebounds.

The defenses were on top early, with only two baskets in the first 3 minutes. Maccabi stretched its lead to 8-2 as Efes was shut down on offense before Beaubois scored twice to get the visiting team moving. Black and Bryant Dunston both scored twice towards the end of the first, which finished 18-13. After a thunderous slam by Brock Motum opened the second quarter scoring, a pair of John DiBartolomeo triples kept Maccabi ahead. Alex Tyus netted inside twice for a 31-22 lead, but Pleiss and Micic scored from deep to pull it back in a 2-8 run. O'Bryant scored inside and out, but Beaubois's triple made in a 1-point game. Scottie Wilbekin answered from downtown before Kruno Simon beat the buzzer with a layup for 41-39 at the break. Angelo Caloiaro made a corner three to start the second half, but consecutive baskets from Moerman sparked Efes and the Frenchman then sank a triple for Efes's first lead, 48-50. Micic twice drove to the basket to make it 52-57, but Black scored twice in quick succession for a 58-58 tie at the end of the third. Baskets were evenly traded at the start of the fourth before Moerman and Larkin both scored twice and then Larkin added a triple for a 62-71 lead midway through the quarter. A three-pointer from O'Bryant gave Maccabi hope, but Efes's defense held firm for a huge road win.

Efes to seal playoff berth on Friday?

Efes could mathematically secure qualification for the playoffs on Friday night; the Turkish team needs either KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz to lose at home to Buducnost VOLI Podgorica or Panathinaikos OPAP Athens to be beaten at CSKA Moscow.

Streaks snapped

The outcome saw a pair of streaks snapped; it was the first road win for Efes after three straight losses, dating back to a Round 17 win at Zalgiris Kaunas. And it was the first home defeat for Maccabi after seven straight wins, ending a sequence which started in Round 13 against Khimki Moscow Region.

Efes joins 200 club

The game saw Efes reach a milestone by gaining its 200th victory in the EuroLeague this century, becoming the ninth team to do so. Strangely, the club is now 200-199 so a defeat would have seen a different kind of milestone. CSKA Moscow leads the way with 351 victories.

Milestone and team-high for Simon

There was also an individual milestone within the Efes ranks as Krunoslav Simon reached 500 career rebounds. In fact, he also registered his highest rebounding tally in Efes colors, taking 9 boards. He now has a career total of 506.

Next round

Efes faces a tough test at home with a visit from high-flying CSKA Moscow, while Maccabi has a must-win home game against fast-improving Zalgiris Kaunas.

Vasilije Micic - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - EB18
Thursday, March 14, 2019
Euroleague.net
Referees: HIERREZUELO, DANIEL; PUKL,SASA; ROSSI, MICHELE
Attendance: 10708
By Quarter1234
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv18231713
Anadolu Efes Istanbul13261921
End of Quarter1234
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv18415871
Anadolu Efes Istanbul13395879
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 WILBEKIN, SCOTTIE 20:30 8 1/5 2/6     1 1 6       1 1   5
2 PARGO, JEREMY 23:19 6 2/5 0/3 2/2   2 2 5 1     1 1 1 7
3 O'BRYANT, JOHNNY 27:35 13 2/5 3/7   3 4 7 1   1     2 3 14
4 CALOIARO, ANGELO 25:59 3 0/1 1/3   1 7 8 1 1     1 2   7
5 ROLL, MICHAEL 11:18 2 1/4 0/1     1 1   1       1 1  
7 KANE, DEANDRE 12:03   0/2 0/2 0/2 1 3 4     1     2 1 -4
8 AVDIJA, DENI DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9 TYUS, ALEX 15:36 8 3/4   2/2 3   3   1 2     1 1 9
12 DIBARTOLOMEO, JOHN 18:05 10 1/2 2/3 2/2 2 3 5 1   3     2 2 11
15 COHEN, JAKE 5:13     0/1     1 1 1         1 1 1
28 BLACK, TARIK 24:24 18 7/9   4/7   2 2   1 3 1   4 4 14
50 ZOOSMAN, YOVEL 15:58 3 0/2 1/2     4 4 2 1       1   6
Team           2   2     2          
Totals 200:00 71 17/39 9/28 10/15 12 28 40 17 6 12 1 3 18 14 70
        43.6% 32.1% 66.7%
Head coach: SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 LARKIN, SHANE 19:52 13 3/3 2/4 1/3   3 3 2 2 2     1 4 17
1 BEAUBOIS, RODRIGUE 23:12 13 3/5 2/5 1/1   2 2 1       1 2   8
4 BALBAY, DOGUS 6:10 2 1/2     1   1           1 1 2
6 BIRSEN, METECAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12 MOTUM, BROCK 4:12 2 1/2 0/1         1             1
15 SANLI, SERTAC DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
18 MOERMAN, ADRIEN 35:48 13 5/10 1/4   2 6 8     1 1   1 2 14
21 PLEISS, TIBOR 4:41 3 0/1 1/1         1         1   2
22 MICIC, VASILIJE 26:03 15 5/6 1/4 2/2   2 2 5   2     3 3 16
23 ANDERSON, JAMES 12:17     0/1     1 1 1 1       1   1
42 DUNSTON, BRYANT 35:19 12 6/10   0/2 2 4 6     1 2   2 4 15
44 SIMON, KRUNOSLAV 32:26 6 3/5 0/3     9 9 3   1     2 3 13
Team           2 3 5               5
Totals 200:00 79 27/44 7/23 4/8 7 30 37 14 3 7 3 1 14 17 94
        61.4% 30.4% 50%
Head coach: ATAMAN, ERGIN

Head Coaches

SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv
“Defensively and offensively we had some moments we were not effective. Efes had the quality to answer whatever difficulty we gave them. We changed our defense a lot, but they reacted. The game was decided in small details, especially in the last period when we had the chance to score some easy baskets. We had the pressure of coming back and our decisions were not always the best. We have to keep our heads up and continue fighting until the end.”
ATAMAN, ERGIN
Anadolu Efes Istanbul

“We made a mistake at the beginning of the game, we started very bad, but every minute we improved on defense and had game discipline. On offense we found the open player, and we played excellent. We might get qualification and it was a very important victory. It was also an important game for Maccabi but I’m proud of my players, they fought for every ball.”

“We found different ways to score and played very smart, we found good mismatches inside and outside against their switching man to man defense. And we made great defense against Wilbekin and Michael Roll.”

Players

TYUS, ALEX
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv
"Tough game. We just got to look forward and not think about it too much. It was a couple of stretches. We were able to make a couple of runs to try and get back in it, but Efes is a good team. I think we could have played better at certain points of the game."
LARKIN, SHANE
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
“We came out hard, played hard on the defensive end and played together. We had a lot of guys scoring around the same number of points. We played hard and won a good game.”
MOERMAN, ADRIEN
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
“We played a very good second half, we shared the ball and showed better defense. Holding Maccabi to 71 points at home is not easy because they beat all the big teams here, but we showed discipline.”