Here are some of the milestones of the season that took Anadolu Efes Istanbul to the Final Four stage in Belgrade.
Road to Belgrade, Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Finalo ketvertas
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- Efes's title defense started on the wrong foot, with four straight losses. Its first winning streak waited until Round 9, when it pounded host ALBA Berlin 63-90 in what proved to be the first of four consecutive victories.
- Efes showed its resilience in Round 17 when rallying from 6 points behind inside the final 2 minutes to defeat visiting Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 84-83. Vasilije Micic scored his team's final 10 points, including the game-winning free throws with 0.9 seconds left, to lift Efes to its third consecutive victory and a 9-8 record.
- Making sure it remained top dog at home, Efes overpowered Fenerbahce Beko 84-79 in Round 28 to conclude a regular-season sweep of the Istanbul derby. Micic had 24 points to lead the charge in that one.
- By mid-March, Efes was rolling in peak form as it reeled off four wins in five games to clinch a playoff berth, headlined by a 93-90 home victory over Real Madrid that saw Micic shine once again with 29 points.
- Efes took charge of its playoff series in Game 1 with a defensive masterpiece in holding AX Armani Exchange Milan to just 48 points. When the series moved to Istanbul, the defending champs won both games to get to their third straight Final Four.