Last season’s EuroCup Finals opponents are ready to meet again for the first time on the same court on Wednesday.
Turk Telekom visits Gran Canaria in 2023 Final rematch
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In a high-profile showdown in Group B, Dreamland Gran Canaria (11-3) welcomes Turk Telekom Ankara (5-9) on Wednesday. It is Turk Telekom's first visit to Gran Canaria Arena since the 2023 EuroCup Final.
Yellow dominance
It is a game that both teams marked in red when the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup calendar came out. Last season, Gran Canaria lifted its first-ever EuroCup title, downing Turk Telekom 71-67 in the final. John Shurna led the way with 18 points as the EuroCup Finals MVP. A.J. Slaughter added 16 points, Andrew Albicy 13 and Nico Brussino 11. All of them are still with Gran Canaria this season. Turk Telekom changed its main players and is now led by Tyrone Wallace, Steven Enoch and James Palmer.
Turk Telekom will try to get its first-ever victory against Gran Canaria, as it has suffered six losses in as many games with this week's opponent. Added to its loss in the 2023 EuroCup Finals, Turk Telekom registered two more losses each in the 2009-10 Top 16 and the 2022-23 Regular Season. Earlier this season, Gran Canaria downed Turk Telekom 69-82 in the Turkish capital. Former Turk Telekom scoring guard Sylven Landesberg led Gran Canaria with 20 points in that road win.
Turkish players stepping up
Turk Telekom started the season with an 1-8 record and has bounced back after that, winning 4 of its last 5 games to return to the Group B playoff race. The rise of several Turkish players has been really important for Turk Telekom's improvement, helping the team be more competitive when it was on the ropes. Okben Ulubay, Yigitcan Saybir and Ismail Cem Ulusoy arrived to Turk Telekom this season, and when these local players started to play better and make things happen, everybody followed their lead.
Ulusoy averaged 1.4 points, 2.4 assists, 2.0 turnovers and a PIR of 1.0 in five EuroCup appearances during Turk Telekom's first nine games. Since then, Ulusoy has averaged 7.0 points, 4.0 assists, 1.6 turnovers and a PIR of 10.8. Likewise, Ulubay went from averaging 8.1 points and a PIR of 8.1 in the opening nine games, to 12.2 points and a PIR of 13.2 in the next five, four of which were victories. Ulubay already won a EuroCup title with Darussafaka Istanbul in 2018. Saybir also improved its numbers from the first nine games (5.3 ppg., 4.6 PIR) to the next five (9.4 ppg., 11.8 PIR). They gave Turk Telekom the spark and competitive fire it needed to be able to compete anywhere.
Gran Canaria's legendary backcourt
Slaughter and Albicy have been playing together for the last four seasons, leading Gran Canaria to new heights, highlighted by the EuroCup title, the club's first in 16 seasons, less than a year ago. Both of them found stability at Gran Canaria. Slaughter had played for nine teams in six different countries before joining Gran Canaria. Albicy had never played for the same team for four consecutive seasons, and Gran Canaria is the fifth club in his professional career. By working together, Slaughter and Albicy also climbed to the very elite of the all-time EuroCup charts in many main statistical categories.
Slaughter is the second-ranked scorer in competition history with 1,537 points. He trails only Bojan Dubljevic, who leads the standings with 1,613 points. Slaughter also ranks second in three-pointers made (246), not far away from Jamar Smith (264). He ranks eighth in steals (121) and 10th in assists (371), two statistical categories in which Albicy is ahead of him. Albicy is second in assists (578) and steals (169) but is far away from first place. Stefan Markovic leads both lists with 698 assists and 214 steals. All that allows Albicy to rank eighth in PIR (1,370), with Slaughter not far behind in the 11th position (1,262). EuroCup legends in the making!
A noisy crowd will be ready to see Gran Canaria in its first home game in any competition in 2024, so expect a great rematch on Wednesday.