The first unit had all but 2 of the team’s points in the decisive fourth quarter
Besiktas’s starters stepped up big in sublime second half
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Things didn’t look that good when the Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul players and coaching staff headed to the locker room at halftime against Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv at the Avia Solutions Group Arena in Vilnius. The Turkish side was trailing 57-39, with their defense having no answers against Hapoel’s offensive prowess and their stars struggling to find a rhythm.
However, a historic second-half comeback saw Besiktas turn the game around to grab a huge 89-94 victory and qualify for the BKT EuroCup Semifinals for the first time in the club’s history. This comeback win came courtesy of the team’s character, with the starters making the difference by coming to the fore when the team needed them most. In fact, four of the five players who were included in the starting five by head coach Dusan Alimpijevic combined for an extraordinary 75 points to inspire their team to victory.
Jonah Mathews netted 17 points in the second half, including Besiktas’s last 5 points of the game to tie his career-high of 28 points. Delgado fouled out with 4:22 left on the clock, but by that time he had already managed to register his eighth double-double of the season by pairing his 11 points with 12 rebounds. Matthew Mitchell also recorded a career-high 22 points, 16 of which came after the break. Last but not least, Derek Needham finished the game with 14 points, including a couple of big triples in the fourth quarter to help his team turn the game around.
In the glorious second half, where Besiktas completed the biggest comeback in club history, the aforementioned four starters combined for 45 of their team’s 55 points. They netted all but 2 of Besiktas’s 26 points in an incredible fourth quarter, allowing the Turkish side to take its first lead of the game (81-82) with 7:47 remaining. Alimpijevic’s men maintained that lead until the final whistle, with Mathews, Delgado, Mitchell and Needham stepping up to seal back-to-back victories on the road.
What follows, is a best-of-three matchup against a strong Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse in the semifinals, but the Turkish side proved for yet another time that they can beat any team. The French team may hold the home-court advantage, but Besiktas demonstrated in Vilnius that it has what it takes to turn things around.