The game went down to the final seconds
Turk Telekom downs Reyer in a stunner, 84-81
In a thrilling contest in the Turkish capital, Turk Telekom Ankara outscored Umana Reyer Venice 35-21 in the fourth quarter to come away with an 84-81 win that leaves Erdem Can’s men within touching distance of the EuroCup Playoffs. Both teams entered Round 17 with a 9-7 record in Group B, but Turk Telekom’s win and Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem's triumph at Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse ensured that the Turkish side is officially in the BKT EuroCup Playoffs.
Braian Angola led Turk Telekom in scoring with 17 points, but Olivier Hanlan scored 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, and Kyle Alexander downed four crucial free throws inside the final eight seconds en route to 13 points. Anthony Brown also chipped in with 13 points. Reyer’s Mfiondu Kabengele had a 20-point, 18-rebound double-double, but in vain. Tyler Ennis added 12 points, Davide Casarin scored 11, and Carl Wheatle finished with 10, including a crazy three with 3.2 seconds left that gave Reyer a bit of hope, only for Alexander to knock down two free throws with 2.4 seconds left to ice the game.
Game Videos
Kabengele was causing all sorts of problems for Turk Telekom from the jump, scoring 7 points as Reyer raced out to a 3-11 lead. That advantage extended to 3-14 when Wheatle drained a three-pointer, capping a 10-0 run for the visitors. Hanlan combined with Angola to give Turk Telekom some life, as they scored 4 and 6 points respectively the rest of the way to make it 13-18 after 10 minutes.
If Kabengele was the man of the first quarter, it looked like Casarin was going to be the star of the second. He scored a runner and dished two beautiful assists before drawing an offensive foul inside the first 2:15 minutes as Reyer opened a double-digit lead at 15-25. Turk Telekom kept punching back, with Speedy Smith erupting for 7 points to get the hosts within five points, 29-34, but Ennis, Wheatle and Kyle Wiltjer helped fix a 31-41 score at the break.
After scores by Wheatle and Kabengele in the early part of the third period, Ennis’s three free throws gave Reyer its largest lead of the game at 36-48. Plenty of free throws followed, but Turk Telekom could never reduce it to single figures. Brown eventually did with a layup at 43-51, then the two teams kept responding to one another before Yoan Makoundou’s layup set a 49-60 score after 30 minutes.
Everything changed in the fourth period. Ismet Akpinar and Angola drained threes either side of a Casarin triple to start the fourth, then Turk Telekom started rolling. The hosts went 17-3 to start the final frame, with Hanlan’s three-pointer at the end of that run giving Turk Telekom its first lead at 66-63. The lead changed hands several times over the following minutes, with the game tied at 76-76 entering the final 60 seconds. Hanlan and Brown scored from mid range to put Turk Telekom 80-76 ahead with 16 seconds to go, then Wiltjer’s reverse layup gave Reyer life at 80-78 with 8.5 seconds remaining. Alexander then made a couple of free throws and Wheatle hit a crazy three-pointer, but Alexander returned to the line with 2.4 seconds left to ice the game and give Turk Telekom an 84-81 win.