Micic will try to lead the reigning champions over Real Madrid
Anadolu Efes-Real Madrid will be played on Tuesday 14th March at the Sinan Erdem in Istanbul, the match was due to be played on 9th February but was cancelled due to the earthquakes that devastated Turkey.
Last week was a complete nightmare for the Turkish squad in the EuroLeague. A week that was supposed to bring them 2 victories ended with 2 painful defeats. The first came in Serbia against Crvena Zvezda 94-75, a match in which Larkin did not play. Ante Zizic’s 16 points and Rodrigue Beaubois’s 15 points it was not enough, the Serbs led by Facundo Campazzo (22 points, 7 assists) were unstoppable. The home match against Maccabi followed and a heavy defeat was 86-64. Unfortunately, they suffered a heavy loss in the 2nd quarter, Beaubois’ injury, 6 points in 10 minutes, will probably not be recovered until the match with Real. Efes is in a delicate situation, 10th place, 13 wins and 14 defeats, so I expected after Ataman scolded his guards for not being in the rhythm of the game, we will see a very good offensive match from them.
Real Madrid occupies the 2nd place in the European competition, having 19-8 comes after an easy week with 2 home matches. The first game was with Baskonia losing 85-81, Musa shining again with 21 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists but not enough to stop Matt Costello’s 20 points in 15 minutes and Thompson’s 18 points, 14 rebounds. Another match with a team from Spain followed a victory with Valencia, 95-91, the main scorers being this time Deck 18 points and Tavares 14 points.
There will be 2 teams that, although both have averages of over 80 points per game, are going through totally different forms. Efes also gave many minutes to Vasilije Micic and Shane Larkin in the domestic league of Turkey in this round at Bahcesehir precisely to have them back in the best shape for the match against Real Madrid.
Valentin Petruta
Photo credit: EuroLeague
