The visitors' unbeaten start to the season has come to an end
Turk Telekom downs Cedevita, 78-70, grabs third straight win
Game Report
3 Mins read
Turk Telekom Ankara remains unbeaten in the 2024-25 BKT EuroCup season after defeating Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 78-70 at Ankara Spor Salonu on Tuesday. In a tight affair, the hosts managed to stay ahead throughout the game and played some solid defense in the last three quarters en route to clinching their third win in a row. Turk Telekom improved to a 3-0 record, with Cedevita dropping to 2-1.
Kyle Alexander and Yoan Makoundou dominated in the paint, scoring 16 points each and collecting 10 and 8 rebounds, respectively. Ismet Akpinar and Anthony Brown netted 12 apiece, with Olivier Hanlan adding 11. For the visiting side, Devante Jones, Aleksej Nikolic, Jaka Blazic and Derek Ogbeide recorded 10 points each.
Turk Telekom offered its fans an entertaining start to the game, with both Makoundou and Alexander posterizing Joan Beringer before the former drilled a triple for an 11-5 lead. Makoundou took his tally to 8 first-quarter points, but Nikolic responded beyond the arc and Ogbeide nailed a mid-range jumper to bring Cedevita within 16-12. Then, an Alexander three-point play was followed by buckets from Jones, Ogbeide and Devin Robinson to cut the difference to 23-22.
Akpinar made 3 of 3 from the line to extend Turk Telekom’s lead to four points heading into the second quarter, with Javon Bess netting one from inside for a 28-22 cushion. But Cedevita fought back, as Martinas Geben and Jones brought the guests within 32-30. Five points from Hanlan, who took his first-half tally to 9 points, were followed by an exchange of blows from inside and a series of free throws that saw Turk Telekom maintain a 43-37 lead at the break.
Brown and DJ Stewart traded mid-range jumpers before an Alexander hard-fought bucket restored a 48-43 cushion for the hosts. Following a Javon Bess layup in transition, the two teams went scoreless for two and a half minutes before the Turk Telekom forward beat the buzzer with a triple to extend his side’s lead to 53-45. Berkan Durmaz threw down a put-back slam, but Jones beat the third-quarter buzzer with a layup to bring Cedevita within 57-52 heading into the fourth.
Makoundou pulled off a spectacular put-back slam in the opening stages of the closing quarter, but four points from Ogbeide trimmed the deficit to 61-58. Alexander and Makoundou were on fire in the paint, netting a basket each after a Jaka Blazic triple to make it 67-61. Four points from Nikolic brought Cedevita within 71-66 in crunch time, but Akpinar nailed one from deep to make it a three-possession game with 1:22 remaining. Cedevita didn’t give up and pushed for a comeback, but a mid-range make from Brown sealed it for the hosts.
