Anadolu Efes survives late thriller vs Real Madrid to become back-to-back EuroLeague champions

Reporting from Belgrade

Anadolu Efes survived a late thriller vs Real Madrid (57-58) and became back-to-back EuroLeague champions. Anadolu Efes went down nine (40-31) early in the third quarter, but the reigning champions willed their way back.

Vaslije Micic and Tibor Pleiss made several huge plays in the second half and finished with 23 and 19 points, respectively. As for Real Madrid, they dominated the first half, but they could not close the game out.

Both teams were exchanging baskets in the fourth, but Micic hit a three pointer to put Anadolu Efes up three (53-56). Fabien Causer and Walter Tavares missed two free throws, cutting the lead to one (55-56).

Tibor Pleiss hit the mid-range jumper with 1:05 remaining for the end of the regulation and Efes created a three-point separation again (55-58). Then, Sergio Llull made a layup to put Los Blancos back in the game (57-58) with 44 seconds remaining.

Real Madrid could not score the rest of the way. The Spanish giants used two team fouls but then decided not to foul, and the game ended with Shane Larkin’s miss, as both clubs were fighting for the ball under Real’s basket.

Walter Tavares was the leading performer for Madrid with 14 points and 11 rebounds. However, he was unable to secure the ball in the last possession of the game.

#2022EuroLeagueChampionshipGame #AnadoluEfes #RealMadrid