Things did not look good for Turk Telekom's frontcourt before its game against Lietkabelis Panezevys. However, Samet Geyik did not see a problem, but a big opportunity.
Geyik rose to the challenge for Turk Telekom
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Turk Telekom showed up in Panevezys without its two starting big men, JaJuan Johnson and Octavius Ellis. Nevertheless, it decided to run its offense through Geyik, who was averaging 5.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and a PIR of 4.8, and he made the most out of the opportunity.
Geyik finished the first half with 22 points on 6-of-6 two-point shooting and 10-of-13 from the free-throw line plus 4 rebounds and 7 fouls drawn for a PIR of 29. He was on track to challenge the EuroCup's all-time PIR record of 55, shared by Priest Lauderdale and Loukas Mavrokefalidis. Geyik helped Turk Telekom to a 37-40 lead at halftime by scoring more than half of his team's points up to that moment.
Geyik kept going, finishing the game with 32 points. His previous career-high in scoring was 12 points in Round 10 against Boulogne Metropolitans 92. He made 8 of 12 two-pointers, 2 of 3 triples and 10 of 13 free throws, adding 6 rebounds and 8 fouls drawn for a PIR of 35.
"Geyik is a very good player against the defense Lietkabelis was playing and he did a very good job today in a very long game for him because he was on the court more than 30 minutes," Turk Telekom head coach Henrik Rodl said after the game. "He stayed with it and everybody did, it is a great win for us."