Anadolu Efes hosts defending champion Olympiacos in the most intriguing challenge in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague tonight.
The Group C game marks theGreek champions’ return to Istanbul, where they enjoyed their arguably biggest triumph.
The Reds made Euroleague history last season at Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul with their famous fourth-quarter comeback in the final game to beat CSKA Moscow on Georgios Printezis’s floater.
Olympiacos started this year’s competition with a tight 85-81 win over Caja Laboral, while Efes started with a defeat at EA7 Milano.
Alongside strong performances from Printezis and Final Four Most Valuable Player Vassilis Spanoulis, the Reds also enjoyed a nice debut from small forward Stratos Perperoglou – one of only two newcomers on the team’s roster.
Disappointing defeat against EA7 Milano
On the other hand, Efes was done by poor free throw shooting and 19 turnovers in Italy. The team, which boasts a strong line-up with the likes of former Los Angeles Lakers duo Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic, along with forward Dusko Savanovic and centers Stanko Barac and Ermal Kuqo, aims to get its debut win in the competition this season.
Coach Oktay Mahmuti’s team will not afford a 0-2 start with a loss to the season, while the Greek giants will test its title credentials in an important away match.
The game at the Sinan Erdem Dome starts at 8 p.m.
Elsewhere in the Group D, Cedevita Zagreb hosts EA7 Milano and Caja Laboral takes on Zalgiris Kaunas.
The other Turkish team in the competition, Fenerbahçe Ülker, visits Union Olimpija in its Group A game. Fenerbahçe enjoyed a 92-80 win over BC Khimki last week, while Slovenian side holds the group lead with a win over Mapooro Cantu.
The game starts at 9:45 p.m.
Russia’s BC Khimki hosts title hopeful Real Madrid also in the Group A.
(Hürriyet Daily News)
