The outgoing champs season ends.
Besiktas stuns Gran Canaria, 78-80, secures quarterfinal spot
Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul shocked Dreamland Gran Canaria by beating the hosts 78-80 on the road to clinch a spot in the BKT EuroCup Quarterfinals. The Spanish side was superior in the first quarter, but Besiktas turned the game into a tight affair from that point on. The second half was an exchange of blows between the two sides, with Besiktas coming out victorious to knock out the defending champion.
Jonah Mathews paced the winning side with 14 points and Angel Delgado registered 11, with Kyle Allman and Marko Simonovic netting 10 each. For Gran Canaria, Ben Lammers scored 14 points, Nicolas Brussino recorded 11 and Ethan Happ added 10.
Happ made 1 of 2 from the line before netting a bucket in transition for Gran Canaria’s first 3 points of the game. Then, Brussino drilled one from beyond the arc for a 6-0 lead. Mathews opened his account with a layup on the break and Delgado scored one from inside, but a John Shurna triple and an Andrew Albicy basket extended Gran Canaria’s lead to 11-4. An exchange of blows saw Happ take his tally to 5 points, while Delgado scored his second bucket of the night to make it 15-8. A Matthew Mitchell bucket was followed by an AJ Slaughter three-pointer, before Simonovic and Lammers scored their first baskets of the night, 20-12.
Besiktas went 0-for-7 from deep in the first 10 minutes, with Gran Canaria’s second unit retaining control of the game and taking a 22-14 cushion into the second quarter. Yigit Arslan nailed Besiktas’s first triple of the night to cut the difference to 23-19 before Miquel Salvo and Mathews exchanged baskets from inside. Besiktas’s defense kept the hosts to just 3 points in the first 5 minutes of the second quarter, while just 2 of Gran Canaria’s 14 points in the second 10 minutes came from the line. Meanwhile, the Turkish side made the most of the energy they received from their solid defense to tie the game, 32-32, through Allman with 2 minutes left until halftime. Then, Allman gave Besiktas its first lead of the night by making 1 of 2 from the line, 32-33, but the two teams were tied 36-36 after 20 minutes.
Game Videos
Derek Needham opened the third quarter with a midrange jumper, which was his first field goal of the game. Then, Kerem Konan and Happ exchanged buckets before a tough Mathews basket from inside made it 39-42. Slaughter responded with a triple, but Mathews took his tally to 10 points with another bucket before Albicy netted an open layup to tie it, 44-44. Lammers and Allman traded triples before an Albicy three-pointer and 4 unanswered Pierre Pelos points gave Gran Canaria a 56-49 lead. A Berk Ugurlu triple was followed by a Mitchell bucket from inside and Besiktas cut the deficit to 57-54 heading into the closing quarter.
Ferran Bassas completed a three-point play, but Arslan and Ugurlu drilled back-to-back triples to tie it at 60-60. A Delgado bucket was followed by a buzzer-beating triple from Sylven Landesberg before the two players scored a bucket each to make it 68-65. A couple of Mathews baskets gave Besiktas back the lead, 68-69, with 3:34 left on the clock.
Slaughter netted a midrange jumper, but Needham responded with a triple before Lammers scored one from inside to tie it at 72-72. Then, Delgado and Simonovic scored back-to-back buckets for a four-point cushion, but Brussino nailed a big triple to cut the difference to 75-76. Needham scored a tough layup before a Simonovic put-back bucket made it a two-possession affair, 75-80, with 11 seconds remaining. Yet, the hosts didn’t give up, with Brussino hitting a deep triple to cut the deficit to 2 points. Then, Simonovic missed a couple of free throws with 5 seconds left on the clock, but Lammers missed a tough triple and Besiktas eliminated the defending champion from the competition.