Few teams will fancy a knockout clash with the former champs after their impressive streak
Anadolu Efes emerges as postseason dark horse after smooth run
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Regular Season
Round 33 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Anadolu Efes Istanbul is on the verge of sealing a playoff berth in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague after coming out of the wilderness into the postseason picture with a seven-game winning streak, capped by Friday night’s dramatic 96-97 overtime victory at Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade.
Having climbed up to fifth in the standings, Efes faces Zalgiris Kaunas at home in the final game of the regular season as the battle for playoff berths is headed for a dramatic climax. Four teams, including Efes, are locked on 19-14 records behind fourth-placed AS Monaco (20-13) with three top-six spots up for grabs.
Efes was likely written off by some pundits and many of its own fans after a patchy run plagued by injuries and inconsistency, which spilled over into the early stages of head coach Luca Banchi’s tenure.
The Italian tactician, who was hauled in after he parted ways with Virtus Segafredo Bologna earlier in the season, endured a 2-5 start before Efes finally hit top gear when it need to, rekindling the kind of form that saw the club win back to back EuroLeague titles in 2021 and 2022.
The matchup against Zvezda reaffirmed the die-hard spirit that saw Efes become the second Turkish club to win Europe’s premier club competition, following in the footsteps of city rival Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul which touched the summit in 2017.
Despite fielding a half-fit Shane Larkin who was battling a respiratory infection and losing veteran guard Rodrigue Beaubois to a leg injury in the third quarter, Efes stood firm after Zvezda forced overtime with a late comeback.
Much to Banchi’s delight, who singled out both men and the entire team for showing the kind of mettle and character that makes a talent-packed Efes roster unwanted opposition to any of its postseason rivals.
“I believe the spectators enjoyed a most intense game. We remained focused after Zvezda came back and tied the score at the very end while we approached overtime with great maturity. Small details made the difference in the end, the win giving us the opportunity to look to the future with even more confidence,” Banchi said at the postgame press conference.
“Unfortunately, we lost one of our pillars in this game because Beaubois suffered a very serious injury but the team responded well to his leadership when he showed the way at the beginning of the third quarter. I also want to underline the effort of our captain Shane Larkin, who led the collective effort. There’s no other way to beat a team like Zvezda in the Belgrade Arena.”
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Beaubois sank 10 points in a brilliant individual third-quarter display to spark the visiting team’s 4-20 run, which turned the tide after a 51-44 halftime deficit, forcing Zvezda to play catch-up for the rest of the rip-roaring contest.
The 37-year old Frenchman landed awkwardly after a delightful floater and was carried off the court, forcing Banchi to throw an exhausted Larkin back into the fray after the Efes captain had defied illness to even make the trip to Belgrade.
‘It didn’t make sense to include him in the roster because he was in no condition to play but he was adamant that he wanted to, especially at the end of the third quarter after the Beaubois injury. That’s what a captain and a leader does, as he and the team went the extra mile to get the win,” said Banchi.
Zvezda, which suffered a second successive home loss following last week’s 72-78 reverse against Real Madrid, will be tempted to send early Easter gifts to its former head coach Dusko Ivanovic after he propelled the Serbian team into the postseason.
Ivanovic steered Virtus to a 90-70 home rout of EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in the Italian derby, handing Zvezda a play-in berth on a silver platter with a game to spare while it also eliminated Milan. Zvezda was also helped by Zalgiris's 70-66 triumph over Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade on Thursday, as the result knocked out Zvezda’s bitter city foe out of postseason contention.
The combination of those two outcomes spared Zvezda the daunting task of having to beat reigning champion Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens on the road in the final game of the regular season, with Zvezda suffering a dip in form during the home straight.
Having climbed into the top six, Zvezda lost five of its last seven games and came perilously close to dropping out of the entire postseason picture. The Serbian side was saved by past merits along with a shock 73-81 win at table-topping Olympiacos Piraeus, which briefly snapped the poor run and turned out to be pivotal in Zvezda’s bid to reach the business end of the competition.
Summing up his team’s effort, head coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos was relieved to see other results going Zvezda’s way but also lauded his men for a season-long quest that saw the Serbian champs squeeze into the postseason for the first time since 2016.
“Like I told the players, we’re in the play-in because of other results going our way, but also because of our own results up to this point,” the Greek tactician said.
“This is very promising for our future as we’ve had some great games, both won and lost. We’ve taken the club to another level and we deserve to be in the play-in. This is a big step for the club and we’ll fight hard to reach the playoffs. Hopefully we’ll have some of our injured players back and I want to thank our fans again from the bottom of my heart and on the team’s behalf for their support.”