Umana Reyer Venice maintained its superb form by grabbing a comprehensive win over Frutti Extra Bursaspor, 78-65, on Tuesday night, making it five wins in a row for the Italian team.
The main factor behind Reyer’s comfortable victory was total dominance inside the paint, with the big man duo of Derek Willis and Mitchell Watt leading the winning team’s scoring with 19 and 18 points respectively.
And their performance was about more than just scoring: Willis (13 rebounds) and Watt (5) also totally obliterated Bursaspor in the battle of the boards, 42-26. That included 19 rebounds off the offensive glass for the host, which scored no less than 14 second-chance points as a result. In contrast, Bursaspor could only manage 2 points in that category, pulling down just 6 offensive boards.
Winning the physical battle also had a positive secondary effect for Reyer, because the ineffectiveness of Bursaspor underneath the baskets forced the visiting team into increasingly desperate attempts to find fluidity in its offensive play – committing 15 turnovers on just 12 assists mainly thanks to the home team’s physical dominance. And that all added up to Bursaspor being restricted to just 65 points, its lowest total of the season and way below its average tally of 83 points.
Although Watt – who also added 2 blocked shots – played a full part, the undoubted star of the show was Willis. The 27-year-old finished with a huge double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds for a PIR of 31, the best of his 33-game EuroCup career. And to show that he is not only a force inside the paint, he demonstrated his shooting range by knocking down 2 of his 4 three-point attempts.
Dominance from Willis is fast becoming a consistent theme for Reyer. The American power forward, who spent last season with Joventut Badalona and previously played for ratiopharm Ulm, has averaged 15.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 19.4 PIR during his team’s five-game winning run, establishing himself as one of the competition’s most powerful physical performers.
And next up, Willis will have even more motivation to continue his great form: a trip to face his former club and fellow Group A high-flier, Joventut, next Wednesday.
