The 28-year-old center set new BKT EuroCup career highs in Round 9
Ante Zizic helps Besiktas take care of business against Panionios
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 9 of 18
Regular Season
group b
Besiktas GAIN IstanbulBJK
10183
Panionios Cosmorama Travel AthensPAN
group b
Overview
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Besiktas GAIN Istanbul lived up to the expectations by downing Panionios Cosmorama Travel Athens 101-83 at home in Round 9. The final score, however, does not reflect what the game was for 35 minutes.
Despite registering its eighth consecutive loss, Panionios put up a good fight and kept its chances open until the fourth quarter, when an 11-0 run late in the game allowed Besiktas to seal the outcome.
Things looked good for Besiktas early as the hosts went on a 16-2 opening run behind six points from Ante Zizic. It looked like it would be an easy night for the hosts until Giorgos Tsalmpouris came off the bench.
It took the Greek big man just three minutes to bury four bombs from beyond the arc, single-handedly bringing Panionios back into the game. Tsalmpouris ended up setting new career highs in points (20) and PIR (29).
Panionios played more aggressively as the game went on, too. After not going to the foul line in the first period, the guests combined for 14-of-15 free throws across the second and third quarters to get within 73-70.
Zizic was Besiktas's steady force in the paint all game long. Panionios seemed to steal the game's momentum once Nikos Gkikas found Nate Watson for a high-flying alley-oop dunk. It was actually the other way around, as Besiktas focused on defense, managed to get steals down the stretch and kept finding Zizic around the basket. Zizic set new EuroCup career highs in scoring (18) and PIR (36), adding 13 rebounds for a solid double-double.
It all happened very fast. In just three minutes, Besiktas went on an 11-0 run in which six different players scored. It took just three missed shots and a couple of turnovers to activate Besiktas's transition game. After going 2 of 7 from downtown in the first quarter, Besiktas buried 12-of-25 three-pointers the rest of the game, finishing it with really solid percentages (63.9% 2FG, 43.8% 3FG) and setting a new club record in assists with 27. It also outrebounded Panionios 39-28, allowing just six offensive rebounds.
"I just to congratulate all my teammates and our coaching staff. We did a great job after this break. We did the right thing: we shared the ball and in the second half, we played better defense than in the first one, so I am really proud of my guys, like I said, and we have to keep going," Zizic said. "Tonight was my night but next game, it will be somebody else. That's normal, we have a lot of talented guys and everybody has potential to do it [have a career night]."
Besiktas is 7-1 in the last eight games and hosts Lietkabelis Panevezys at its BJK Gain Sports Complex next week.
