Anadolu Efes is back for its third consecutive EuroLeague Final Four. The reigning champions are seeking to enter an elite group of teams that have accomplished a back-to-back championship victory.
The team’s core remained the same as last year. Therefore, it makes sense that the Turkish side will defend its crown at Stark Arena of Belgrade.
Photo: EuroLeague Basketball
2021-2022 season recap
This season provided many ups and downs for Efes. They only won one of their first six games (71-68 against UNICS Kazan).
Ergin Ataman’s guys stepped up after this disappointing beginning. Throughout the season, they were close to a playoff spot. However, they secured postseason qualification, after winning their last six games of the season (16-12 in total).
Efes swept their regular season series against only three teams (Maccabi Tel Aviv, Zalgiris and Fenerbahce). They faced Armani Milano in the playoffs.
Despite not having the home-court advantage, Efes managed to come up victorious in Game 1, performing really well on defense (48-64).
They then lost Game 2 (73-66). However, they won Games 3 and 4 in Turkey and earned the opportunity to remain at the top.
Key Stats
Efes was unstable this season. Even though they were scoring more points than their opponents (81.7 per game over 79.2), the Turks didn’t perform on a high level in other statistic categories.
Their biggest win margin occured in Round 27, where they also scored the most points this season (109-77 against Maccabi Tel-Aviv). However, Efes also allowed more than 100 points in two games (96-100 against CSKA Moscow and 102-80 against Monaco).
Photo: EuroLeague Basketball
Key Players
The top scorer of the regular season in the EuroLeague, Vasilije Micic, is one of the two key factors of Efes’ performance this year. The 2021 Final Four MVP averaged 18.2 points and 4.6 assists this season.
In addition, Shane Larkin averaged 14.6 points and 5.3 assists. Tibor Pleiss (9.4 points and 4.2 rebounds) also contributed the most for his team, especially in the playoffs. He scored a total of 42 points in the last two games against Milano.
Photo: EuroLeague Basketball
Final Four
Anadolu Efes will face Olympiacos in the semifinal. The teams split their regular season series (1-1). In Turkey, it was Rodrigue Beaubois’ contribution of 29 points that led Efes to victory (88-69).
In Greece, they suffered defeat by the hands of Kostas Sloukas, who made the winning-game shot in overtime (87-85).
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