The Turkish club Anadolu Efes will play against CSKA Moscow in the semi-finals of the 2021 Euroleague final of Turkish Airlines in Cologne on May 28th to start its bid for the club’s first Euroleague trophy.
The Line-up for the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four includes the teams that played in the last Final Four in the championship game, as well as two teams that are returning to the brightest stage of continental basketball after a long break.
The other semi-final in Lanxess Arena on May 28th will be played against Armani Exchange Milan in Barcelona.
Anadolu Efes is looking for his first European trophy in 25 years after winning a European competition, the Korac Cup, in 1996 as the first Turkish club in a sport .
The last Euroleague championship game will be repeated in the semifinal game of this season between Efes and CSKA.
During Efes the same core of players from the championship sspiel 2019, led by All Euroleague guards Vasilije Micic and Shane Larkin, CSKA looks different after Toko Shengelia and Iffe Lundberg join, although 2019 Final Four MVP Will Clyburn remains.
You could imagine a high-scoring affair between these two teams who have been the top two teams in the league this season. CSKA topped the charts with 84.4 points per game and Efes averaged 84.1 points.
Remarkably, they were also among the best at taking care of the ball. Efes achieved the second lowest value in the competition with 11.3 sales per game and CSKA the third smallest with 12.3.
Efes, who will play his fourth Final Four, needed a maximum of five playoff games to get Real Madrid in to be put under pressure in the playoffs. After dominating Los Blancos in Games 1 and 2 with a total of 50 points, he blew a late lead in Games 3 and 4. but kept calm to win the crucial competition at home.
CSKA, which will play in its record 20th Final Four, was the only team to have swept its playoff series. It won all three games against Fenerbahçe Beko by a double-digit margin and will arrive in Cologne with a winning streak of nine games that goes back to mid-March
Efes coach Ergin Ataman, who signed a two-year contract extension with the Istanbul club earlier this month signed is sacked.
“The Final Four will be very competitive, but we want to win. We’ll win it, ”said the successful coach on the official Euroleague website.
For Ataman, it’s not just about winning, it’s about doing it in style, which has led Efes to play that a lot what he thinks is “perfect basketball” and expects a tough game.
« We know it’s going to be a very difficult game, a very tough game, » he said. « They have a lot of experience in this event. »
Ataman is enjoying his third outing at Efes and believes the time has come for the biggest trophy in European club basketball.
« I think this club deserves it to get a title now, « he said. “It’s title time. I hope that this year I will give them the chance to award this title. For me it would be the best moment in my basketball life. “
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The Turkish club Anadolu Efes will open on May 28th in Turkish Airlines’ 2021 Euroleague final against CSKA Moscow in Cologne to start its bid for the club’s first Euroleague trophy.
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