Anadolu Efes advances to Euroleague Final Four
Anadolu Efes defeated Barcelona Lassa 80-71 on Wednesday to advance to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four.
- Sports
- Compiled from wire services
- Published Date: 11:47 | 01 May 2019
- Modified Date: 11:47 | 01 May 2019
Turkey's Anadolu Efes beat its Spanish rival Barcelona Lassa 80-71 on Wednesday in the fifth and last leg of the playoff quarterfinals of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, securing its first Final Four ticket in 18 years.
Shane Larking and Adrien Moerman each scored 18 points for Efes in the historic win.
Anadolu Efes won the first playoff game against Barcelona at home and Game 3 on the road. Barcelona, however, evened the series each time by winning Game 2 in Istanbul and Game 4 at home. The Turkish side's back-court shone with Vasilije Micic's 21 points and 7 assists in the first game and Shane Larkin impressed with 30 points in Game 3.
Efes will now vie against its fellow Turkish rival Fenerbahçe Beko in the Final Four while CSKA Moscow will face defending champion Real Madrid.
This year is the first time ever that two Turkish clubs have advanced to the Final Four.
Efes last reached the Final Four in the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 season, before EuroLeague switched to its current format.