The Spanish side allowed just 7 offensive rebounds to even its semifinal series with Bahcesehir
Gran Canaria lives to fight another day after protecting its defensive glass
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3 Min lectura
Dreamland Gran Canaria rebounded from its disappointing Game 1 loss in the semifinals by… well, rebounding better, especially on its defensive glass. And that led to the semifinal series now being tied 1-1.
Gran Canaria beat Bahcesehir College Istanbul 69-68 in Game 2 on a Caleb Homesley three-point play with 1.1 seconds left to send the series to Game 3 in Istanbul next Tuesday. The biggest difference between the first two games was Bahcesehir’s number of offensive rebounds.
The Turkish side took the opening game 74-66 as it dominated the rebounding battle 42-27, including a massive 20 offensive boards, which led to 16 second-chance points. Gran Canaria actually won the battle of the boards in Game 2 33-33, allowing just 7 Bahcesehir offensive rebounds for 9 second-chance points.
"It was a difficult game, just like all three games with Bahcesehir because it is a great team. We are very happy that we stayed alive in the series,” said Gran Canaria head coach Jaka Lakovic.
Besides controlling the rebounding, Lakovic was also satisfied with his players’ mentality of not giving up.
“They played a strong third quarter and even took the lead a couple of times but we never gave up even after they took the lead with 2 seconds to go. We kept believing,” Lakovic said referring to Bahcesehir taking the lead 66-68 with 2.0 seconds left on a Marko Simonovic dunk. “The players executed a great play to finish the game. These things happen in basketball. We finished the game with a win.”
With the season on the line, Gran Canaria finished the game with a great play. Homesley came over from the far right side of the court, only to cut back to the basket, at which point Nico Brussino delivered a perfect inbounds pass. Homesley caught it and was fouled as he hit the layup. Homesley also made the bonus free throw for the win.
“It’s always cool to win a game like that,” said Mike Tobey, who scored 11 points for Gran Canaria. “But the guys are locked in. They know we have one more game if we want to go to the finals.”
And toughness on the defensive glass will again be a big decider in the winner-take-all game.