To win two battles but lose the war: how UNICS lost in Istanbul

Too many clubs from Istanbul?

This time UNICS hasn't had an easy rival. There can't be another in Euroleague. Even if some fans and experts have another opinion, Anadolu Efes has a 40-year-old history. The club was created in 1976 and has been representing its country in the most prestigious European basketball tournament for many years. But Anadolu has been trying to win victories abroad for 20 years.

The absence of European titles and a maximum representation of Turkish clubs in Europe cause a pile of questions among the organisers. In this year's group stage, ¼ of the teams was represented by Turkish clubs. Moreover, we can't say that the domestic championship in Turkey is interesting and breathtaking. It is not a surprise that two Turkish clubs were at the bottom of the standing right after the first six Euroleague matches. By the way, it was projected before the competition.

If Galatasaray looked a weak team a priori, the leader of the Turkish League in the 2016/2017 season could count on something more. In the domestic championship, Anadolu Efes has won all its matches, but the state of affairs in Euroleague was fine from the first matches. Like UNICS, Turks lost their first games but cheered up and won two victories in a row. The defeat in the last away match inflicted by Milano should not confuse. Italians were really good at shots then.

Velimir Perasović's players prefer to play athletic basketball by active play with the ball. Two players perform a decisive role while forming attacks – American Granger and Frenchman Ertel. By the way, the latter is in the top 5 best point guards of this year's competition. Apart from him, Tyler Honeycutt who has 8,2 bank shot is also at the top. Curiously, he set a record of Europe – he has 19 rebounds under his belt. In defence, the coaching staff of Turks prefer playing by using physical characteristics of heavy forwards and centres under the basket. In addition, Efes has people who can strengthen the game 'from the bench'.

This time UNICS hasn't had an easy rival. Photo: unics.ru

Semi-empty stands propel, and UNICS wins

Almost all people always note two things while describing matches from Istanbul: the dominance of Turkish clubs from this city and the loudness of the stands. In this season, UNICS has already played in the capital of Turkey and won a victory over last year's finalist Fenerbahçe. Kazan players will have to come here again to play against Galatasaray and Darüşşafaka. And the fans of Efes are quite selective.

Semi-empty stands made basketball fans sad, of course. But it can be explained. UNICS is not such a well-known team in Europe that people come to see more than Euroleague champion CSKA. The stadium is half full even when CSKA plays. The number, of course, affects the loud support. Nevertheless, we heard usual cheers for our players and 'oh's to attacks of the guest team from the very beginning.

Two oppositions between the players in the starting line-up looked more interesting. The best and the most useful player of Euroleague Keith Langford had to play against one of the most unpleasant and stubborn guards – Granger. And the battle between Parakhouski and Dunston under the basket was to be decisive for statistics of rebounds per match.

They were the heroes of the first part. Having exchanged failed three-pointers, the teams switched to reliable hoop shots where centres used to score points. Dunston is 9 cm lower than the Belarus player, but he became the 'Euroleague castle' twice for a reason. In general, the match looked interesting because UNICS is famous for its defence, and Efes bets on the attack.

The guest team started the match more actively. And, having taken the lead in the first half, they did not let the rival go ahead. But the game was even. If UNICS successfully performed cutting hoop passes, the host team had exchanges, so that its players were free near the three-point line.

Anadolu Efes levelled the game due to fresh Ertel's activity. But dribble with a foul and a three-pointer by Colom by the middle of the second quarter allowed UNICS to run ahead with 6 points – 36-42. After Colom's great assist to Kaimakoglou, the score became -8. The host team had a bad discipline that often led to unreasonable and hurried shots. High press of Efes started to work to the max only by the end of the first half. Two fouls with shots outside the arc by Thomas equalised the score. But ours held the lead thanks to Colom and Langford +5.

High press of Efes started to work to the max only by the end of the first half. Photo: potamanya.com

Dolphin Langford and Pashutin's bad game

The third quarter started with an active performance of the host team that appeared on the court with a desire to return its excellence. Aggravation of the situation and press, which was usual for this match, calmed Kazan players down. And Efes managed to take the lead after several mistakes. The stadium added fuel to the fire. After a series of successful shots, the stands were carried away and propelled their favourites by the middle of the quarter. Such support worked for Ertel. The Frenchman scored 5 points immediately and increased the dominance of Anadolu to 4 points. Turks did not let Kazan players be ahead any more.

In answer to it, Pashutin sent Langford who started to make mistakes often to have a rest. In this match, Keith looked like a good and forgiving 'dolphin', not the hero who played matches on his own. Colom who was skilfully blocked by Ertel also disappeared from the court.

When almost 3 minutes left before the end of the match, UNICS had -6 points. And it seemed that Russians were about to man up. However, the horrible game in defence crossed these dreams out over and over. As a result, this quarter was decisive. UNICS mistakenly entered a double-edged game with fast attacks where it expectedly lost. In this season, the Kazan club is having a bad fast attack technique. Even if the teams had the same number of losses, Anadolu ran away from Kazan players better.

Johnson who absolutely got lost in the first half was the only Pashutin's player who managed to accelerate the game somehow.

By the last quarter, the margin was -10. In principle, everything was clear. Perasović blocked the leaders of UNICS. Colom's assists and Langford's three-pointers that are so familiar to the Kazan fan stopped working. Kazan players were far worse in defence. The left wing of Anadolu's attack where Deshaun Thomas worked harder than other players was especially noticeable. For this reason, he scored 20 points.

It seemed that Pashutin's players were about to man up. russiabasket.ru

Another attacking leader of the Turkish club Dunston 'finished' with 24 points. However, it is not the fault of the centres but the whole team. Yes, the game of Banić and Williams was not successful. But the support of the guards and forwards of the team was very important here. Constant changes of players and fast moves of Perasović's players left Parakhouski who was fighting under the basket almost on his own high and dry.

The head coach of CSKA has just recently told about presented points after the match against Anadolu Efes. UNICS presented only one quarter. But a drive is playing a decisive role while playing with Turkish teams in such tense matches. Due to the support of the stands, the host team got enough adrenaline. Our players got lost. 10 minutes were enough to lose. It is not enough to win a battle if you lose the war in the end.