Defeating Olimpia Milano 75-70 in the fourth match of the THY EuroLeague Play-Off, Anadolu Efes made it 3-1 in the series and advanced to the Final Four.
Host head coach Ergin Ataman started the match played at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall with the following top 5: Larkin, Micic, Bryant, Moerman, Pleiss. Ettore Mesina, the head coach of the away team, took part in the park with the top 5 of Rodriguez, Hall, Shields, Bentil, Hines.
Starting the game with Pleiss’s consecutive hits from behind the three-pointer line, Anadolu Efes showed an effective offensive performance with Micic’s contribution to Pleiss, while maintaining its toughness in defense and closing the first period ahead by 8 points: 19-11.
Olimpia Milano, who recovered in the attack with the intervention of Datome, took the lead for the first time in the match in the 17th minute: 34-35. Olimpia Milano, who had many second chances after Hines had the upper hand against Pleiss in offensive rebounds, went to the locker room with a 43-42 advantage.
Taking the lead with Pleiss and Micic’s points and increasing the lead to double digits, Anadolu Efes responded with baskets from behind the three-point line, and Olimpia Milano reduced the lead to 4. Anadolu Efes went to the final period of the match with a score of 62-58.
Capturing a series of 14-0 in total, Olimpia Milano took the lead once again in the 33rd minute: 62-66. While the remaining part of the match was passed with mutual baskets, Anadolu Efes increased its hardness in defense and beat Olimpia Milano 75-70 by catching a high hit rate in the offensive free throws.
AT THE FINAL-FOUR FOR THE 3rd TIME IN A ROW!
Having won the championship last season in the organization, Anadolu Efes succeeded in qualifying for the Final Four for the third time in a row.
Anadolu Efes’ opponent in the Final Four will be the winner of the Olympiakos-Monaco match.
ANADOLU EFES BREAK THE RECORD IN AUDIENCE
The audience record was broken in the fourth match of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Play-Off, between Anadolu Efes and Olimpia Milano. The match played at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall was followed by 15 thousand 108 ticketed spectators. With this number, Anadolu Efes broke the audience record in European basketball in the post-pandemic period.