His side beat an Olympiacos team that led for the majority of the contest
Tomislav Mijatovic celebrates Efes’ first win in new home
Articolo
3 Minuto di lettura
Regular Season
Round 4 of 34
Regular Season
Anadolu Efes IstanbulEFS
9189
Olympiacos PiraeusOLY
Overview
w
l
l
w
l
w
w
l
Anadolu Efes Istanbul celebrated its first victory in its brand-new home on Friday night, coming back from behind to overcome Olympiacos Piraeus 91-89 in a thrilling finale.
The 2021 and 2022 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion debuted at the Basketball Development Center – built on the site of the iconic but now dismantled Abdi Ipekci Arena – last week with the excitement of a local derby against crosstown rivals Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, but came away disappointed after suffering a 78-83 defeat.
But the new venue is now starting to really feel like home thanks to a stirring comeback victory over perennial title contender Olympiacos, rallying from an 8-23 first-quarter deficit and winning the fourth quarter 26-19 to take the victory.
Efes head coach Tomislav Mijatovic believes the vibrant atmosphere generated by his team’s supporters played a significant role in the triumph, especially during the crucial closing stages when the game took its final and decisive swing in the hosts’ direction.
“[It was an] amazing reaction from our fans,” he said. “We’re in a new home, and we need to have this kind of support every time. It gave us extra wings, an extra push, and this is a great building block for what’s coming up next. It was a tremendous basketball evening here in Istanbul.”
Mijatovic always had words of praise for the character shown by his players after their slow start to the contest, enthusing: “Sincere congratulations to our guys, who never stopped believing, never stopped executing what we wanted to execute, never stopped going where we wanted to go.
“My heart goes to them, they’re doing a tremendous job and this is the way to play.”
The Efes roster now has very few players remaining from the back-to-back title-winning team led by Ergin Ataman, but Mijatovic believes the new batch of players can enjoy much more success in the future.
“I’m very optimistic about the potential capacity of our team,” he commented. “We have a little bit more to go, which is normal, but I’m happy about how things are clicking among the players – the leaders, the newcomers, the players that have their role within the team.
“Our offensive potential has a high ceiling, and we need to continue to explore that potential and get close to that ceiling.”
And with a few more thrilling finishes like Friday night’s, the ceiling of the new Basketball Development Center will also be raised by the noise of the Efes fans.