Bahcesehir shined in the opener, but Gran Canaria will host Friday's showdown
Granca, Bahcesehir both have reasons for optimism ahead of Game 2
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3 Mins read
The opening game of the best-of-three BKT EuroCup Semifinals left both teams with reasons for optimism as they travel to the Canary Islands for Game 2 on Friday night.
For Bahcesehir College Istanbul, which held on for a 74-66 victory, the reasons are obvious, starting with the fact that it defended its home court and now is just one win away from a historic appearance in the finals. Coach Dejan Radonjic's team got the job done chiefly through teamwork – plus a brilliant showing from center Marko Simonovic.
🌅 Günaydın büyük Bahçeşehir Ailesi! 🙋
— Bahçeşehir Koleji Spor Kulübü (@BKBasketbol) March 26, 2025
❤️💙 #FlyHighTogether #HayalDeğilHedef pic.twitter.com/stKLuT98Ep
Bahcesehir used its depth and an overpowering rebounding effort to notch the victory. While the performances off the bench of Simonovic, Jaleen Smith, Sehmus Hazer and Furkan Korkmaz made a massive impact, they overshadowed the fact that two key players – Mateusz Ponitka and Tai Odiase – were somewhat underwhelming. And that means that Coach Radonjic can look forward to having those players, who combined to play less than 20 minutes on Tuesday, well-rested and hungry for Game 2.
What's more, aside from its fantastic rebounding, Bahcesehir did very little that it cannot repeat or improve on in Game 2. It shot below its season-long numbers, making only 48.7% of its two-pointers and 30.4% of its threes. The 12 turnovers committed were 1 more than normal and the lone blocked shot was fewer than normal.
All told, aside from its team-record 20 offensive rebounds and Simonovic's career game, Bahcesehir can be confident for Friday's contest.
Gran Canaria looks to even things at home
And why would Gran Canaria be confident? Start with the fact that after stumbling to an 18-point third-quarter deficit, it outscored Bahcesehir 8-21 to get within 5 points in the fourth quarter. That run should boost the team's spirits, as coach Jaka Lakovic alluded to.
"The game was a physical game. I think we started the game well and after that Bahcesehir made a 10-0 run to take control of the game with their switching defense, which we didn’t resolve well," Lakovic said in the post-game press conference. "In the second half we started to play more physical with more effort. We stopped Bahcesehir on 25 points in the second half. But at the moments where we needed the stops, where we came close to 5 points, we gave up too many rebounds."
In short, Gran Canaria bounced back from a slow start, played strong second-half defense and needs a better plan against Bahcesehir's switching defense and rebounding. It sounds like much of Coach Lakovic's Game 2 plan should be easy to prepare!
🤝 𝗡𝗢𝗦 𝗖𝗔𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗦, 𝗡𝗢𝗦 𝗟𝗘𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗠𝗢𝗦 𝗝𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗦
— Dreamland Gran Canaria (@GranCanariaCB) March 25, 2025
💛 Esto no acaba aquí. pic.twitter.com/y0J1s6OSHG
So far, in the three meetings this season between these teams, the home team has won each time. Only twice has a team scored more than 70 points in those matchups. And Gran Canaria has scored at least 70 points in seven of its 10 home games and averaged 82.2 points at home this season.
One of the best free-throw shooting teams in the EuroCup, Gran Canaria was just 11 of 16 from the line (68.9%) in Istanbul, including a few costly misses. Coach Jaka Lakovic will also have his team primed for a better rebounding effort in Game 2 after Bahcesehir controlled the glass to the tune of 42-27 – and scored 16 second-chance points – in the opener.
Perhaps the biggest advantage for Gran Canaria is the psychological one. Playing with its back to the wall, the team will give everything to stay alive, while in the back of their minds, Bahcesehir's players will know that there is always Game 3 to fall back on.
For club legends and team leaders Andrew Albicy and John Shurna, going down without maximum effort is out of the question. And in them, like teammates Nico Brussino, Miquel Salvo and Jovan Kljajic, beats the heart of a champion. A 2023 EuroCup champion. And that should be more than enough to win this game and push the series to Game 3 next week.