The visitors' second unit outscored their counterparts 46-7.
Gran Canaria's reserves, led by Sylven Landesberg, made the difference
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Dreamland Gran Canaria pulled away in the second half to defeat Turk Telekom Ankara 69-82 on Wednesday with its second unit making all the difference. The visitors' top two scorers both came off the bench with Sylven Landesberg netting 20 points in 19 minutes and Roko Prkacin adding 9 points in 16 minutes.
With James Palmer, Ismail Cem Ulusoy and Mehmet Yagmur sidelined, Coach Ernak Selcuk knew his team's depth was going to be an issue. And accordingly, Landesberg came in fresh to start the second quarter with his team down 24-15 and erupted for 12 points in the next 10 minutes as Gran Canaria took the lead for good.
Landesberg took charge against his former team
The game was Landesberg's first against Turk Telekom since he played for the team during the 2018-19 season. The former EuroLeague champ averaged 17.5 points that season.
"This was a really big win for us to keep our momentum going. We needed it. They are a really talented team," Landesberg said after the game. "Just being able to come out here and play at a really high level that we all did as a team, it was a big win for us."
Turk Telekom suffered without full roster
Four Turk Telekom starters featured for at least 30 minutes and only one reserve, Yigitan Saybir, played more than 10 minutes. Saybir contributed 6 points and 5 rebounds in 25 minutes.
"We were tired. We don’t have the rotation and our players were tired. When they lose their rhythm, they can’t continue at the same level of defense... When the guys get tired, we have to react better," Selcuk said after the game. "We have to get healthy. We have too many guards out and we need their support."
Five Gran Canaria reserves played at least 15 minutes and in the end, the reserves also outscored (46-36) and outrebounded (24-14) the team's starters. Those big contributions from players like Landesberg, Prkacin, Ferran Bassas, Miquel Salvo and Ben Lammers made all the difference as the reigning champs remained undefeated on the season and atop the Group A standings.
