Lokomotiv’s fourth opponent at the Turkish part of MELBET training camp seemed to be the toughest one: 16 national championships, and two consecutive Euroleague titles in 2022-2023. Even though their six key players were missing due to Eurobasket (Shane Larkin, Şehmus Hazer, Ercan Osmani, and Erkan Yılmaz are part of the Turkish national team, Rolands Smits plays for Latvia, and Isaiah Cordinier – for France) the roster of Anadolu Eyes still looked impressive: Giorgios Papagiannis, Brise Dessert, PJ Dozier, Cole Swider.
Anton Yudin has changed his starting lineup again. Captain Patrick Miller is joined by Jeremiah Martin, Kirill Temirov, Anton Kvitkovskikh, and Kirill Yelatontsev.
During the first 5 minutes, the teams switched being ahead. Makar Konovalov allowed Loko to take a small lead, 16:12, then, after a steal, Vince Hunter alley-ooped to Royce Hamm, who made it 18-14. However, the Turks tied the score by the end of the 1st quarter, 22:22.
Soon, Anadolu Efes took a two-possession lead, 30:26, due to two consecutive three-pointers. After our timeout, Martin and Kassius Robertson combined for 5 points. Miller added 2 more on a fast break, and with the score of 37:35 in our favour it was time for Igor Kokoškov to ask for a break. Soon, Ilya Popov made his debut for Loko. The bigman immediately scored a shot after a rumble under the basket, added 4 points in his next two attempts, but the Turks were ahead by the halftime, 46:43.
The third quarter began with a powerful 15:2 run by Loko. Robertson, Kirill Temirov, and Miller were unstoppable. In less than four minutes, the margin had reached double digits – 58:48. Efes’ pursuit wasn’t particularly successful, making them trail 73:65 before the final 10 minutes.
The start of the 4th quarter saw Hamm’s 5 points: 3 from the arc, and 2 more with a two-handed dunk after Miller’s alley-oop. However, this didn’t stop Anadolu Efes from closing in on Lokomotiv, 78:79, and then taking the lead, 80:79. With 3.5 minutes remaining, Robertson scored a crucial long-shot, returning the lead to Loko, 83:82. Our team added a bit in defense, and that helped us 88:84.
Jeremiah Martin was the leading scorer of Loko this evening, providing 15 points. Miller scored 13 points, Hamm – 12, Robertson – 11, Hunter – 10.
Our next game will be on September 14 at 7:30 PM. The opponent is Bahçeşehir Koleji.