Even in their sixth attempt, the Buducnost Voli basketball players failed to defeat Turk Telekom - the "blues" lost 79:72 tonight in Ankara, in the third round of the Eurocup.
With four minutes and five seconds left, Buducnost led 70:65. Then came a 12:0 run by the Turkish team (77:70), making the "blues"' second defeat in the Eurocup inevitable. This was Turk Telekom's first win of the season in all competitions, after five losses.
After Nikola Tanaskovic's three-pointer (11:11), there was a five-minute period during which Buducnost was without points. Then, in less than two minutes, Oleksandar Kovlijar lost the ball three times, Turk Telekom made a 14:0 run and led 25:11.
Buducnost's defense was not up to par, there was no aggression, but the "blues" came close to minus six (28:22) in attack through Skylar Mays and Juvan Morgan. Then came another 7:0 run by the home team and a 35:22 lead.
At that time, Mays was pulling the strings of the "blues" offensive game. The most consistent player of Buducnost at the beginning of the season hit three three-pointers from the same number of attempts, joined by Yogi Ferrell, who was accurate twice from outside the 6,75 line, so that at the end of the first half, after an 11:0 run, Jacqueline's team led 42:41.
The first half was concluded with points by Montenegrin international Marko Simonović (43:42), and the second half was opened by Turk Telekom players with two three-pointers (49:42). Then Tanasković returned a three-pointer, Fletcher Magee and James Thompson were accurate, and the "blues" took the lead - 52:50.
After another three-pointer by Megija, Buducnost took a 57:55 lead, and opened the last quarter with six consecutive points, reaching plus five - 64:59. After new points from Mays, the "blues" again had a five-point difference (70:65), and then they stopped completely. The host responded with two three-pointers (Jordan Asher and Kyle Olman) - 71:70. It was the announcement of the series and the triumph of the Turkish team.
A two-minute period followed when both teams were scoreless, the final 60 seconds entered, and Turk Telekom's idleness was broken first by Jalyn Smith, who scored for two points (73:70), then Berkan Durmaz was precise on the counterattack (75:70) and there was no turning back.
The most efficient player for Buducnost was Mace with 21 points. Tanaskovic, Maggi and Ferrell each had 10.
Rashid Sulajmon spent 15 minutes on the court and did not score any points - he shot 0/2 from two and 0/3 from three. He had four fouls at the beginning of the third quarter.
For Turk Telekom, Olmen had 16 points. Simonović finished the match with 15 points and five rebounds.
TURK TELEKOM - THE FUTURE LOVES 79:72 (26:15, 17:27, 16:16, 20:14)
Ankara - "Ankara spor" Hall. Attendance: 4.683. Referees: Rachis (Lithuania), Udjansky (Great Britain), Baena (Spain).
Turk Telekom: Olmen 16 (12-9), Tekcevik, Durmaz 4 (4-2), Kosut, Kahraman 1 (2-1), Aleksander 10 (2-2), Aser 7, SMIT 6, SIMONOVIC 15 (5-5), OZDEMIROGLU 7 (1-0), GULTEKIN 3, BENKSTON 10.
Buducnost Voli: SULAJMON, Maggie 10 (4-4), Mays 21 (6-6), Thompson 4, Slavkovic, TANASKOVIC 10 (2-2), FEREL 10 (2-2), Jovanovic, Morgan 4 (2-0), BUTSIJEL 6 (4-4), KovlIjar 3 (2-1), BUTEJ 4.
Bonus video:
