Belgacom Spirou beat Anadolu Efes 80-79 in a nail biter- Euroleague Recap
In a mouth watering contest that was in the balance until the very last minute, Belgacom Spirou managed to steal the victory through Justin Hamilton’s clutch shooting in the dying seconds. With the win, Spirou not only got themselves
on the points table, they also restricted Anadolu Efes from clinching their second consecutive win in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague.
For fans that had come in numbers to support both teams, it was nothing less than a treat as Belgacom were made to work hard by Efes to claim their 80-79 win
Efes, playing at home, were after trailing by 14 points at one time in the first quarter never gave up and were always in the hunt.
Caleb Green led the winning team with 18 points on a 4 for 6 three point shooting and was supported well by his team mates. Demond Mallet contributed 14 points and 5 rebounds, Christophe Beghin added 13 and the star of the show
Justin Hamilton chipped in with 12 points and 7 assists.
Belgacom’s coach, who was spotted biting nails in the last quarter, was overjoyed with the win. Expressing his delight, he said
“It was a really good win. We are in a very tough group and this win means a lot for us. I pushed the team’s level of play and my players did everything they can do. We will give our best in all the games. Maybe Anadolu Efes didn’t
respect us enough. The second quarter was a little bit difficult. But we made tough shots all the way to the end. It helped us gain self-confidence on the court and to win the game. At the moment, our chemistry is better than Anadolu Efes’s”
From Efes, Ersan Ilyasova racked up a game high 21 points. Tarence Kinsey and Sasha Vujacic also made valuable contributions and finished with 14 and 12 points respectively.
Efes were dominant in the starting minutes of the first quarter however things turned around quickly after Spirou’s players launched an offensive onslaught. Within four minutes, their lead swelled to 5 points 6-11, courtesy of
Tornike Shengelia’s layup. In the following minutes three consecutive treys were drilled by Spirou and their advantage mounted to 14 points.
The first quarter ended with Belgacom leading by 24-15, but the next ten minutes belonged to Efes as they not only managed to slash down the first quarter’s deficit but got themselves ahead of Belgacom. In the 6th minute,
Sasha knocked down a three-pointer which got Efes ahead of Spirou by 1 point at 29-28.
However, Belgacom pulled back things late in the half and the period finally ended with Spirou leading at 38-32.
Sasha came into action early in the second quarter as he pulled down a three to get Efes close. Both teams were neck to neck by the 8th minute of quarter with Belgacom leading by only 2 points 53-51. In the last minute,
Caleb Green got an open look at the rim from outside the arc and through Belgacom’s excellent perimeter movement; he successfully made a 3-pointer to hand a four point lead, 60-56, to the visitors going into the final frame.
The Last quarter was thrilling as both teams displayed outstanding offense. Belgacom were only leading by two points with a minute to go in the game, but then Justin Hamilton scored two consecutive free throws that proved decisive
in the end as despite of a late three-pointer by Tarence, Efes fell 1 point short.
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