Anadolu Efes - FC Barcelona: Nail-biting victory (84-89)

Barça secured their eighth victory from eight games in the Top 16 of the Euroleague this evening. Away to Anadolu Efes, Barça had the game practically secured after only 22 minutes thanks to their 15-point advantage. But the home team battled back and nearly claimed the win if it hadn’t been for a buzzer-beater from Joey Dorsey in the fourth quarter. The game went into overtime, and from that point on the Blaugrana didn’t show any mercy (86-89).

Promising start

Barça’s first half was nearly impeccable. The visiting team controlled rebounds and let their big players, Tomic and Lorbek, lead the attack. After only seven minutes, Barça had established a 14-point lead. But a 9-0 run from the home team, thanks to three pointers from Vasileiadis, brought the scoreline to 17-22 at the end of the first quarter.
Efes were more aggressive in the second quarter, but Barça held them at bay thanks to their field goal accuracy. Collectively, the men managed by Pascual played close to perfection as they surged to a 12-point lead right before the break (26-38).

The game changes course

Barça jumped to their biggest lead early on in the second half (31-46). But two three pointers from the Turkish team edged them closer to the lead, and in fact they came very close after only six minutes. A 15 to 4 run from the home team made it 41 to 48, it was evident that Barça’s defence was having a very hard time containing the Turks.

The last quarter started with 48 to 53 on the scoreboard. A three pointer from Vasileiadis brought Efes level and another basket from Planinic gave the home team the lead for the first time (57-55). They managed to establish seven-point advantage, but the Tomic-Navarro duo jumped into action and kept the Blaugrana in the game. With 1.7 seconds left on the clock, and the scoreboard showing 75-73, Oleson stepped up to the free throw line. He scored his first, but missed his second. Dorsey, however, managed to tip the ball into the hoop to make it 75-75 at the buzzer.
In overtime, Tomic fired Barça ahead by five (75-80). Despite Efes’ best efforts, they couldn’t muster the strength to keep pace with the visiting team and the match came to an end with 86-89 on the scoreboard.