The two-time EuroLeague champion has been transformed since Tomica Mijatovic became head coach.
New-found mentality has Efes thriving again
The turnaround cannot be considered complete yet, but when it comes to qualifying for the Play-In Showdown, Anadolu Efes Istanbul has everything in its hands ahead of the final week of the regular season.
To be able to say that, Efes had to pull out a dramatic 80-82 win in a high-stakes Istanbul derby against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. Their Round 33 throw-down had a do-or-die air to it because the winner – Efes – can finish as high as ninth still despite having been 9-15 earlier this season, while the playoff-bound loser – Fenerbahce – is now without any chance of earning home-court advantage in the playoffs.
Written off not long ago
"Everybody knew what we are fighting for," Efes forward Will Clyburn said after shining with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists at Ulker Sports And Event Hall on Friday. "Obviously, we are trying to get into the play-in, and the guys brought their best today."
Head coach Tomislav Mijatovic had nothing but praise for his team after the game.
"These guys are amazing," he commented. "I am super proud of them."
Team captain Shane Larkin tried to put the team's effort into words.
"We came here as an underdog," Larkin said. "We really fought as a team, showed our character, showed our intensity, our fight, and our will to win. And we walked out of here as a winner."
Larkin stressed his pride in how the team has been playing and approaching games:
"A lot of people wrote us off a couple of months ago. We weren't playing our best, we had a lot of injuries, and I guess people just kind of shut the door on our season. But we kept believing in each other."
Coach Mijatovic not taking credit
Indeed, few expected Efes to be playing meaningful games in April, especially after a seven-game losing streak between December and January, and a 26-point Round 24 loss in Kaunas in Round 24 that dropped the team's record to 9-15.
A day later, Efes parted way with Erdem Can and promoted long-time assistant Mijatovic as head coach until the end of the season.
Efes is 7-2 since then, losing only to Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade and LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne on the road. Now, Efes is sure to finish ninth in the standings, and host the first Play-In Showdown game, if it wins its regular-season finale next week at home to Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade.
Coach Mijatovic waves off any credit for his team's turnaround.
"I am a small part of this," Mijatovic stated after Friday's emotional derby win.
"I am happy, and honored and very privileged to work with these guys for all these years. I feel this obligation to Efes that we have to give everything we can. Hopefully, we can continue to do that."
Be a harder-playing team
Whether or not he takes credit, the recent two-time champions – now in the role of underdog – have shown a new mentality under Mijatovic.
"It took us a while to find this mentality," Larkin explained. "We needed to have this from the beginning of the season, but a lot of things didn't go our way. We faced some adversity, but we didn't give up.
"It doesn't matter what is in front of us, it doesn't matter who it is, what team, what defense, what offense, we've got to go out there do our best, play our hearts out and be the harder-playing team for 40 minutes. That's what we've been preaching for the last few months and I think we've been doing that."
One might think that the final step in this turnaround comes next week against Crvena Zvezda, but with several players and a head coach who have thrived in recent postseasons, Efes can think bigger than only reaching the Play-In Showdown.
Mijatovic refuses to look past the next game – "Step by step" has been his mantra – but one has to wonder if any other EuroLeague playoff team would be happy to face Efes going forward.