The 31-year-old became one of the team's heroes on a famous night in Istanbul
Awudu Abass spearheaded Virtus’s exemplary defense at Efes
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Will Clyburn started Tuesday’s Play-In Showdown clash between Anadolu Efes Istanbul and Virtus Segafredo Bologna in style. The 33-year-old forward went 5 for 5 from beyond the arc and 2 for 2 from the charity stripe to net all of Efes’s first 17 points of the night.
A few days after labeling himself as "the best 'three' in Europe", Clyburn took to the Sinan Erdem Sports Hall floor determined to prove his point. Meanwhile, Virtus needed to find a way to contain the experienced forward, who troubled their defense in the first quarter.
The impact of Abass
Enter an unlikely hero in Awudu Abass. The Virtus forward came off the bench in the closing stages of the first quarter and provided the guests with a much-needed energy boost.
Abass did everything on the floor. He finished the game with 12 points, including a big basket from inside with 3:30 left on the clock to extend Virtus’s lead to 57-64. Yet, most importantly, he managed to contain a red-hot Clyburn, who ended the first half with 20 points but scored just 2 after the break.
“We brought energy from the defense, the control of the rebounds and the loose balls,” head coach Luca Banchi stated during the post-game press conference.
Indeed, Virtus won the rebound battle 40-43, forced Efes to commit 10 turnovers and produced as many as 7 blocks, 6 of which came in the second quarter. The Turkish side did net 23 first-quarter points, with 17 scored by Clyburn, but they recorded 13, 14 and 14, respectively, in the next three quarters.
A tough night for Efes
Despite boasting the third-best offense in the regular season with 86.1 points scored per game, Efes was kept below 70 points for the first time in 30 EuroLeague games and just the second time this season.
Meanwhile, Efes came into Tuesday’s clash ranking fourth in two-point (56.1%) shooting and sixth in three-point (37.2%) efficiency. Yet, Virtus’s hustle on the floor led to numerous contested shots and the hosts ended up going 12 for 37 (32.4%) from inside the arc and 9 for 29 (31.0%) from deep.
Should Virtus replicate this defensive outing on Friday on the road at Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, it could pull off another road upset and suddenly enter the EuroLeague Playoffs as a team to be feared.