[ad_1]
When Istanbul’s Anadolu Efes played Žalgiris for the first time this season, Kaunas scored a more than convincing victory.
At the Isla Nemunas stadium, Martin Schiller’s students dictated the conditions for the team, which made sure to lead the Euroleague last year when it stopped when the pandemic broke out, and achieved the 89:73 victory.
But now it is another beast. In 2021, Anadolu Efes demonstrates the best results of all the Euroleague clubs: in 10 matches, the Turks only stumbled once when they lost in St. Petersburg in January. Since then, Ergin Ataman’s men have won six times in a row.
It is not surprising that this rise of the Istanbul players is also reflected in the rankings. After being in the top eight after the first round, Anadolu Efes basketball players are already in first place: with 17 wins and 10 losses they are fifth and only one win behind second place CSKA Moscow.
Getty Images / Euroleague.net nuotr./Vasilije Micičius
The “blues” who broke the same Muscovites by up to 30 points last week before the duel with “Žalgiris” radiate confidence and assure that now they are different from October, when they had no chance in the “Žalgiris” arena.
“After a very good double week, we meet the solid” Žalgiris “team. We know how dangerous they are, because they have already beaten us in Lithuania.” Now we are a different team than we were then, so we have to go out to the field with confidence and physically play our defense to dictate the conditions in the game, as we have done recently, “said Bryant Dunston, Anadolu Efes’ main center and defensive mainstay.
For his part, E. Atamanas, who looked for excuses after the defeat in Kaunas, this time spoke more not about himself, but about the team of rivals, to whom he did not spare good words.
Euroliga.net nuotr./Erginas Atamanas
Žalgiris is a dynamic team that shares the ball well and plays balanced basketball. Marius Grigonis, Lukas Lekavičius and Nigel Hayes attack effectively from distance, while Joffrey Lauvergne scores points from below the basket. We will have to apply pressure and get them off the game plan. It will be a very important game on the way to the playoffs, ”said the Turkish specialist.
Anadolu Efes and Žalgiris will fight on Friday at 7.30pm.
[ad_2]
