Efes takes on Olympiacos in crucial game
ISTANBUL-Hürriyet Daily News
The offensive contribution of Sasha Vujacic (L) will again be key to Anadolu Efes’ bid to avenge a recent defeat at Olympiacos in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16. AFP photo
Anadolu Efes hosts Olympiacos Piraeus tonight in a possible do-or-die game in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague.The Istanbul side meets Olympiacos at the Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, hoping to get the upper hand over its Greek counterpart in Group E of the Top 16 stage of the top-level club basketball competition in Europe.
Olympiacos and Efes, along with Galatasaray Medical Park, trail leader CSKA Moscow in the group, with all having one win and two defeats. CSKA maintains its perfect run with three wins in as many matches.
After losing to Olympiacos last week, Efes slipped to fourth spot in the group with points difference. Tonight, the Istanbul team will not only try to win, but also try to overcome a big 18-point deficit after last week’s 83-65 defeat.
Galatasaray Medical Park hosts CSKA Moscow tomorrow.
Efes has beaten Olympiacos in four of its last five home games but the Reds took the last showdown, 85-93 in overtime back in the 2009-10 season, in which the Greek powerhouse made it to the Euroleague title game.
There are three more games in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague tonight.
Group F leader Montepaschi Siena hosts Unicaja (0-3) hoping to maintain its perfect run, while fellow Spain teams, Gescrap Bizkaia Bilbao (1-2) and Real Madrid (2-1) will meet in another important showdown. Unics Kazan will also try to extend its perfect run in the Group G, when it visits winless EA7 Emporio Armani.
Another Turkish team in the competition, Fenerbahçe Ülker is also in the Group G and will play tomorrow at Panathinaikos in another Turkish-Greek clash.
