Thanks to a change of approach in the second half, Bahcesehir rallied from 18 points down on the road
Bahcesehir’s character showed up to clinch first place
Article
3 Mins read
Bahcesehir College Istanbul can fly back home from Poland very happy. Even though it was not pretty against the last-placed host, Trefl Prokom, Bahcesehir pulled out a victory to clinch first place in Group A.
Bahcesehir improved to 13-2 on the season, and has a three game lead over Dreamland Gran Canaria, the second-place team in the group, and the only other team that could reach 13 wins in this group. But since Bahcesehir won their head-to-head tiebreaker, it has secured first place.
And that’s a big deal, because it means Bahcesehir has not only clinched a direct berth in the quarterfinals, but there it will have home-court advantage, the same as in the best-of-three semis.
But, the victory against Trefl, which has only won one game this season was everything but easy. The hosts led by 18 points midway through the second quarter, and had dominated in all segments of the game.
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“We didn’t play well from the beginning, except the last few minutes of the second quarter,” Bahcesehir head coach Dejan Radonjic said. “So many mistakes, defensively we were soft, and offensively was also not good.”
But a strong finish to the second quarter, a 2-12 run that cut the deficit to 45-37 got Bahcesehir going, and the team carried that momentum into the second half.
“The second half, we changed our approach”, Radonjic said. “Our defense was totally different, we played tough, very focused with a lot of energy.”
The team erased the deficit, and went in front in the fourth quarter after back-to-back triples from Sehmus Hazer and Jaleen Smith, but Trefl did not give up and the two team were tied entering the final minute.
That’s when Bahcesehir put the ball into the hands of its two most experienced players. Smith, who starred with 25 points and 9 rebounds, made a tough runner, then Axel Bouteille made a tough baseline jumper, compensating for a rough night during which he made only 2 of his 8 field goal attempts.
Those two baskets gave Bahcesehir a 74-78 lead with 30 seconds to go, before Smith sealed the deal from the foul line.
“Credit to our team, we fought well to get back in it,” Smith said. “It just speaks of the character of our team.”
Because of the fight, energy and character, now all roads to the EuroCup Finals lead through Istanbul, where Bahcesehir is 8-0.