CSKA edge out Efes in back and forth thriller despite Micic 32 points / News - Basketnews.com

Credit BasketNews/D.Repečka

Reigning champions Anadolu Efes Istanbul (0-2) suffered a second defeat in a row.

Player of the Game EFF 29 Tornike Shengelia Points 23 Accuracy 7-8 Rebounds 4 Assists 3

They lost against CSKA Moscow (1-1) 96-100 (21-26, 25-25, 22-28, 28-21) in a very close battle.

Moerman nailed two free throws with 18 seconds left to play (95-97). Lundberg hit only one free throw on the other side, and CSKA were forced to use the fouls tactic (98-95).

Balbay scored one point from the charity stripe (96-98). In the next CSKA possession, Shengelia sealed the victory for guests with two free shots from the line (100-96).

"It was a very interesting game, another one between Efes and CSKA," Itoudis said after the game. "We're getting used to that: high score, thriller, you know. I think that we were the better team today, so congratulations to my players."

"Their stars put a little bit of pressure on us, we made some wrong decisions. Probably, we were a little bit tired because of the small rotation; maybe that's on me.

But I think that overall, we were the better team. We handled the situation well, and we managed to accomplish a good win and prove to us that we can really play ball," Itoudis concluded.

Pleiss tried to become an X-factor in the fourth quarter, maintaining hosts in the game, but Lundberg and Shengelia hit three 3-pointers in a row to restore the 15-point advantage (92-77).

However, Micic was not ready to raise a white flag. He scored a couple of baskets in a row.

After his shot from deep, the CSKA's advantage decreased to 9 points (94-85). That was not the end. Moerman scored 2+1 (88-94). Micic made a dunk with 1:24 to play, and the deficit was just 4 points (90-94).

Anadolu Efes Istanbul / Schedule

Anadolu Efes Istanbul CSKA Moscow96-100 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne Anadolu Efes IstanbulTue18:00 AX Armani Exchange Milan Anadolu Efes Istanbul10-1518:30

However, Micic fouled out, and Clyburn scored one point from the free-throw line (95-90). Efes' Moerman took over the leader's role and hit another three with 52 seconds to go (93-97). Shengelia made a putback dunk in the next CSKA attack (97-93).

Tornike Shengelia was a top scorer for CSKA, accumulating 23 points (5/5 2PT, 2/3 3PT, 7/8 FT), 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 29 PIR.

"It was a thriller game. You have to give credit to Efes; they never gave up," Shengelia said. "But neither did we. Even though they came back to within a couple of points, we kept our cool and followed the game plan that coach gave us, and executed."

"We moved the ball. We fought for the 50-50 balls, and I think that at the end of the day, that's what made the difference," he added.

Will Clyburn added 18 points, while Johannes Voigtmann and Iffe Lundberg scored 17 points each.

Vasilije Micic led the route for Efes. He posted 32 points (4/7 2PT, 7/11 3PT, 3/3 FT), 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 23 PIR.

CSKA's Marius Grigonis and Nikola Milutinov missed the game, while Krunoslav Simon was not ready for the match for Efes.

CSKA: Tornike Shengelia 23 (4 REB), Will Clyburn 18 (7 REB), Johaness Voigtmann 17 (9 REB, 7 AST), Iffe Lundberg 17 (6 REB, 5 AST), Alexey Shved 9, Nikita Kurbanov 7 (4 REB).

Efes: Vasilije Micic 32, Adrien Moerman 14 (5 REB), Shane Larkin 12 (7 AST), Tibor Pleiss 9 (3 REB), Rodrigue Beaubois 8 (3 AST), Filip Petrusev 7 (3 REB).

Highlights

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