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Anadolu Efes hold off Maccabi, 85-78

Anadolu Efes hold off Maccabi, 85-78

Game Report

3 Mins read

Panos Kostopoulos

Rolands Smits and Jordan Loyd led the Turkish side to the opening night victory

Regular Season

Round 1 of 38

game Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv vs Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Regular Season

Anadolu Efes IstanbulEFS

8578

Maccabi Rapyd Tel AvivMTA

Overview

Anadolu Efes Istanbul kicked off the 2025-26 EuroLeague season with an 85-78 victory over Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv at MORACA in Podgorica, Montenegro. An entertaining back-and-forth clash saw the hosts trail 75-76 with 4:10 to go, but Rolands Smits stepped up with 7 straight points in the closing stages to clinch it for the Turkish side.

Smits and Jordan Loyd led all scorers with 16 points each. Shane Larkin scored 14, with Ercan Osmani and Nick Weiler-Babb netting 12 each. For the visitors, Jaylen Hoard and Roman Sorkin bagged 15 points apiece in a losing effort.

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Show all

Efes started strong with Kai Jones and Osmani scoring inside before a triple from Weiler-Babb gave the hosts a 7-3 lead. Isaia Cordinier completed a three-point play following back-to-back buckets from Hoard, with Efes maintaining a 14-9 cushion. Six points from Sorkin and Brice Dessert’s second EuroLeague basket brought Maccabi within 18-17. Then, Osmani took over on the other end, taking his tally to 7 points, but Jeff Dowtin netted his first-ever bucket for Efes, cutting the difference to 21-19 after 10 minutes.

Maccabi hit the ground running in the second quarter, with summer signing TJ Leaf’s alley-oop slam opening a 2-12 run. Larkin responded with 5 straight points, but Dowtin restored a 30-36 lead with a floater. Loyd’s first two baskets as an Efes player were followed by a Larkin layup, with Efes slightly trimming the deficit to 40-44 at halftime.

Weiler-Babb netted one from deep before teeing up Larkin for an open layup that tied it up at 45-45. What followed was an exchange of blows, as Hoard slammed home a dunk on the other end, but Smits put Efes back in front with a bucket in transition, 54-52. Then, Lonnie Walker and Loyd traded triples before a second from the latter gave Efes a 60-59 edge heading into the closing quarter.

The fourth started with a rain of triples, as Loyd, Smits and Oshae Brissett drilled one each, with the Turkish side leading 66-62. Weiler-Babb took over with 6 straight points, but Tamir Blatt responded from downtown and Hoard made 2 from the line to put Maccabi ahead, 75-76. Smits replied with 7 consecutive points before a three-point dagger by Loyd put the game to bed.