Bugrahan Tuncer filling a hole in Efes's injury crisis
Over the course of his five-season, 51-game career in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, Bugrahan Tuncer had only started one game for Anadolu Efes before Wednesday’s trip to face Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade. This season had been particularly quiet for the 29-year-old, who hadn’t played at all since Round 6 and was still waiting to score his first points of the season.
But with Vasilije Micic ruled out long-term and Shane Larkin also missing the game in Belgrade, Tuncer was called upon by Ergin Ataman to start the game and – although his team ended with a heavy 94-75 defeat – he did enough to suggest that he could be a significant player for Efes in the coming weeks.
Tuncer performed very well in the first half, scoring 5 early points and then adding a triple just before the break to take his halftime tally to 8 points. He also orchestrated the offense well, dishing 5 assists in the opening two quarters. He was unable to make the same impact in the second half as Zvezda flexed its defensive muscles and Efes tired, but Tuncer’s final totals 6 assists was a joint personal best, and his 32 minutes played was the most of his career.
With Micic out for several games now and Larkin’s status uncertain, he might need to repeat that effort as the race for the playoffs intensifies.