CSKA — Anadolu Efes, 28 May 2021

CSKA – Anadolu Efes Istanbul: 86-89 (-3)

CSKA: Hilliard (0), Hackett (17 + 3 rb + 2 as + 2 st + 4 pf), Shengelia (10 + 7 rb + 4 pf), Kurbanov (2 + 2 bs), Eric (0) – start; Lundberg (15 + 5 pf), Bolomboy (DNP), Ukhov (8), Antonov (0), Strelnieks (2), Voigtmann (6 + 4 rb + 2 as), Clyburn (26 + 7 rb)…

Anadolu Efes: Beaubois (15 + 3 to), Singleton (1 + 3 rb + 2 bs + 4 pf), Sanli (19 + 8 rb + 3 bs), Micic (25 + 3 rb + 6 as + 3 to + 5 pf), Simon (10 + 6 rb + 3 as) – start; Larkin (11), Balbay (0), Moerman (6), Tuncer (DNP), Pleiss (DNP), Anderson (2), Dunston (0)…

Congratulations to Efes for making the championship game. They were dominant for about 27 minutes. Unfortunately, lack of communication and over-respect - with no offense to the great team of Efes - we gave them a lot of spot-shots, which was not our plan because they are great on spot-shots. They shot 7 of 12 from beyond the arc and were dominant there in the first half. That was pretty much the difference. The 4 more three-pointers that they hit were important. We wanted to start the third quarter differently, but they continued to hit tough shots, and that gave them a boost. But overall, the fact that they went 1 of 8 beyond the arc in the second half talks about how we changed our attitude and it was changed defensively in the beginning of the fourth quarter. Down 16, we went to the players and said: 'Listen, we still believe we can come back. Down 16 in basketball, anything can happen if we correct things.' We changed some things. We found the best possible way to come back - playing small ball a lot. We kept finding good open looks. We were making shots, and the momentum of the game - and basketball is a game of runs - shifted to our side. We could have had a different outcome. It didn’t happen all the way. It leaves a bitter taste in our mouths the way we lost the game. But congratulations to Efes for making the championship game.