COLOGNE, Germany (Reuters) – Anadolu Efes Istanbul advanced to the Euroleague championship game with an 89-86 win over CSKA Moscow on Friday after fending off a late rally from the holders to avenge defeat by the Russian giants in the 2019 final.
With last year’s Final Four of Europe’s premier basketball club competition scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Efes will be vying for their first Euroleague title after Serbian guard Vasilije Micic contributed 25 points and six assists.
Efes will lock horns with either Barcelona or Armani Milan, who clash in the other semi-final later on Friday.
The Turkish side carved out a 21-point lead midway through the third quarter after nailing their opening five three-point shots, having also stifled CSKA with aggressive defence as centre Sertac Sanli dominated the boards.
CSKA, who have won eight Euroleague titles, came storming back in the final 10 minutes thanks to Will Clyburn who finished with a game-high 26 points and seven rebounds.
But Clyburn missed a clutch three-pointer in his team’s final possession and Shane Larkin sank one of two free throws at the other end with half a second remaining to seal the win.
Micic, who was drafted by NBA franchise Oklahoma City Thunder in December, was relieved his team mates were able to hold on in the dying minutes after he fouled out of the game.
“It was tough to watch from the bench and I am very glad we have such a good team,” the 27-year old told Euroleague television.
“The most important thing was to win and we made it. I tried to push the team early on and give us some pace but in the end I didn’t have enough left in the tank.”
(Writing by Zoran Milosavljevic; Editing by Ken Ferris)
