2018-19Regular SeasonRound 29
March 29, 2019 CET: 20:30
Local time: 20:30 FERNANDO BUESA ARENA

Efes rolls at Fernando Buesa Arena

Anadolu Efes Istanbul confirmed its good moment in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague by topping KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 92-102 at Fernando Buesa Arena on Friday. Efes, which had already locked fourth place in the standings, improved to 19-10. Baskonia, which would have qualified to the playoffs with a win, dropped to 15-14 but still ranks sixth. Tibor Pleiss and Adrien Moerman led the winners with 21 points apiece. Pleiss added 12 rebounds for a double-double. Shane Larkin had 19 points while Vasilije Micic dished 11 assists for Efes. Luca Vildoza led Baskonia with 23 points. Shavin Shields added 16, Johannes Voigtmann and Jalen Jones each had 13 while Darrun Hilliard got 12 for the hosts. Larkin and Moerman shined early before Vildoza and Shields took over, allowing Baskonia to get a five-point margin at half-time. Pleiss stepped up after the break, joining forces with Moerman and Micic to give Efes a 67-74 margin after 30 minutes. Efes boosted its margin to 78-91 midway through the fourth quarter and never looked back.

Three-pointers by Bugrahan Tuncer and Moerman allowed Efes to get an early 5-9 lead. Vildoza and Shields stepped up for Baskonia with 5 points apiece, giving the hosts their first lead, 15-12. Larkin struck twice from downtown and Krunoslav Simon added another one but a dunk by Vincent Poirier and an unstoppable Voigtmann kept Baskonia ahead, 23-21. Sertac Sanli followed a jump hook with a layup but Voigtmann sank his second triple for a 26-25 score. A floater by Simon and a three-point play by Micic restored a 26-30 Efes lead after 10 minutes. Huertas and Brock Motum traded close baskets early in the second quarter, and a corner triple by Dogus Balbay made Baskonia call timeout at 28-35. Poirier rescued the hosts with consecutive baskets in a 6-0 run that Jones capped with a floater. Huertas buried one from beyond the arc and a dunk by Jones made the hosts regain a 39-37 lead. Rodrigue Beabois downed a three-pointer but Huertas and Hilliard fueled a 6-0 run that gave Baskonia a 45-40 edge. Moerman and Balbay each hit a three-pointer but Shields and an outstanding Vildoza allowed Baskonia to reach halftime with a 53-48 lead. Poirier dunked immediately after the break but Simon improved that with a three-point play. Pleiss stepped up and a dunk by Micic tied it at 57-57. Moerman followed a put-back basket with a triple to complete his team's comeback, 60-62. Moerman and Pleiss kept pacing Efes, and a layup by Micic made it a six-point game, 64-70. Pleiss dunked and Beaubois boosted his team's lead, 67-74, after 30 minutes. Hilliard and Shields took over early in the fourth quarter before a jumper by Vildoza brought Baskonia within 73-76. Hilliard bettered Pleiss's layup with a three-point play but Larkin and Pleiss quickly restored a 76-83 Efes lead. Shields and Larkin exchanged layups, and a three-pointer by Moerman made the hosts stop the game at 78-88. Pleiss hit a triple and added a layup to seal the outcome, 81-95, and Baskonia did not recover.

Pivotal performer

Efes arrived in Vitoria-Gasteiz without starting center Bryant Dunston, but Tibor Pleiss made sure he was not missed a lot. Playing against his former team, Pleiss dominated at both ends, finishing the game with 21 points on 7-of-11 two-point shots, 1-of-1 three-pointers and 4-of-4 free throws. He added 12 rebounds for a PIR of 28.

Game-changing moment

A three-point play by Darrun Hilliard brought Baskonia within 76-78 but the guests did not panic. Shane Larkin, Adrien Moerman and Pleiss each struck from beyond the arc in a 2-13 run that sealed the outcome, 78-91, with over 4 minutes left.

Stellar stat

Efes hit 15-of-20 two-point shots and 9-of-9 free throws in the second half. It also finished the game with 27 assists - tying both its season-high and the second-best mark for Efes in EuroLeague history. It previously dished 27 assists against Buducnost VOLI Podgorica on December 18, 2018.

Did you notice?

Vasilije Micic reached double digits in assists for the first time in his career, dishing 11 with just one turnover. He missed the chance to record his first double-double, scoring just 7 points. Pleiss's 12 rebounds were one shy of his career record - 13 with Baskonia against AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan on March 13, 2014.

Next game:

Both teams finish the regular season next Thursday: Baskonia visits CSKA Moscow in a rematch of the 2005 and 2008 EuroLeague semi-finals. The same night, Efes hosts AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan in a rematch of the 1996 Korac Cup final.

Tibor Pleiss - Anadolu Efes Istanbul - EB18
Friday, March 29, 2019
Euroleague.net
Referees: LOTTERMOSER, ROBERT; ROCHA, FERNANDO; ZAMOJSKI, JAKUB
Attendance: 11099
By Quarter1234
KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz26271425
Anadolu Efes Istanbul30182628
End of Quarter1234
KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz26536792
Anadolu Efes Istanbul304874102
KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
3 VILDOZA, LUCA 34:56 23 6/9 2/3 5/5 1 2 3 5 3       1 5 34
5 GONZALEZ, MIGUEL DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7 VOIGTMANN, JOHANNES 30:37 13 1/2 3/8 2/3 1 6 7 5           2 20
8 SEDEKERSKIS, TADAS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9 HUERTAS, MARCELINHO 27:15 7 3/11   1/1 1 2 3 7 1 2     2 1 7
12 DIOP, ILIMANE 7:57                   2     1   -3
17 POIRIER, VINCENT 26:58 8 4/13     4 7 11 2   1 1   3 3 12
21 JONES, JALEN 14:28 13 4/5 1/1 2/2 3 1 4   1   1   1 3 20
23 SHENGELIA, TORNIKE DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
31 SHIELDS, SHAVON 31:06 16 4/8 1/4 5/5 2 1 3 2   1     2 4 15
32 HILLIARD, DARRUN 26:43 12 4/6 1/5 1/1   3 3 1 2 1     4 2 9
Team                                
Totals 200:00 92 26/54 8/21 16/17 12 22 34 22 7 7 2 0 14 20 114
        48.1% 38.1% 94.1%
Head coach: PERASOVIC, VELIMIR
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 22:50 19 2/2 4/8 3/3   3 3 5 1 3       3 24
1 BEAUBOIS, RODRIGUE 10:03 5 0/2 1/3 2/2 1 1 2     1     5 1 -2
3 SAYBIR, YIGITCAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
4 BALBAY, DOGUS 8:39 6   2/2         1         2   5
12 MOTUM, BROCK 11:28 4 2/3 0/2     2 2         1     2
15 SANLI, SERTAC 11:14 4 2/3 0/1   1 1 2     1     2   1
18 MOERMAN, ADRIEN 29:27 21 3/5 5/8   2 6 8 1   2   1 2 2 22
19 TUNCER, BUGRAHAN 14:43 5 1/2 1/4     1 1 3         3   2
21 PLEISS, TIBOR 27:51 21 7/11 1/1 4/4 3 9 12   1 1     3 2 28
22 MICIC, VASILIJE 28:51 7 3/4 0/1 1/1   2 2 11   1     2 4 19
23 ANDERSON, JAMES 9:26 2 0/1   2/2   1 1 2         1 1 4
44 SIMON, KRUNOSLAV 25:28 8 2/2 1/2 1/1 1 1 2 4 1 1     1 1 13
Team             1 1               1
Totals 200:00 102 22/35 15/32 13/13 8 28 36 27 3 10 0 2 21 14 119
        62.9% 46.9% 100%
Head coach: ATAMAN, ERGIN

Head Coaches

PERASOVIC, VELIMIR
KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
"We are all sad for not being able to celebrate our qualification to the playoffs, but I believe that Efes deserved to win. They played an excellent game and dominated, especially in the fourth quarter, when we managed to get within two points. From that moment, we didn't find answers to their speed on offense and their fluid game. We tried, but couldn't stop them. In the first two quarters, we were able to run and score fast break baskets, and compete against them. In the end, they dominated us on offense, we couldn't play good defense against them. We have to do the math, but it is clear that if we win the next game, we go through, and we have to focus on that, and we will see all other options - all teams involved will do that. We will go over the possibilities because there are a lot of them. But we have to focus on our next game and try to win it. A lot of teams can go through."
ATAMAN, ERGIN
Anadolu Efes Istanbul

"First, I am sorry about Baskonia but we were fair to our game. I gave chances to players who didn't have more minutes like Tibor Pleiss, Sertac Sanli and Bugrahan Tuncer but all of us, especially in the second half, played great basketball. Tibor had a great game but also our guards - many assists, perfect basketball. I like my team's basketball. I am sorry about Baskonia but I hope they will be in [the playoffs] next week."

"Offensively, we played a perfect game. We played perfect basketball and showed that we are candidates for the Final Four. I hope to come back here again in May. The EuroLeague is a high-level competition and this is very good, because in the local league it is not like that - when you know your final position in the standings, your players give up. But we didn't give up today, and this is why the EuroLeague is a top competition."

Players

LARKIN, SHANE
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
"We know it has been a good year for us. We have been playing well together, getting better and better each week. Now, we are going to go the playoffs and trying to get to the Final Four. I haven't been there and a lot of guys in our team have not played in the Final Four, so we are really motivated to do that, and today it was just another step on the journey to get there. It would be very special to play the Final Four here. I started my European career with Baskonia and playing my first Final Four in Vitoria would be amazing. I am going to do everything I can to get here."
PLEISS, TIBOR
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
"I tried to give my best to win this game and I think the whole team did a tremendous job in the second half. I think we deserved to win today. Yes, of course, that is the goal [returning to Fernando Buesa Arena to play the Final Four]. Today was not a bad start here. We will try to continue - it is a good way to feel comfortable here."