May 22, 2013
Regular Season Game 1 - October 23, 2008 CET: 19:15 Local time: 20:15 - ABDI IPEKÇI SPORTS HALL
Efes Pilsen 61 - 60 Partizan

Records

Ave.   Ave.
0-0 Final Four 0-0
0-0 Playoffs 0-0
0-0 Top 16 0-0
0-0 Regular Season 0-0
0-0 Overall 0-0

Referees

Crew Chief
FACCHINI, FABIO, Italy
Referee
CHRISTODOULOU, CHRISTOS, Greece
Umpire
PEREA, OSCAR, Spain

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
0 Points 0
0 Rebounds 0
0 O. Rebounds 0
0 D. Rebounds 0
0 Assists 0
0 Steals 0
0 Blocks 0
0 Turnovers 0
0 2PT 0
0 3PT 0
0 FT 0
0 Index 0
Team Stats - Efes Pilsen
Team Stats - Partizan

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
0 Points 0
0 Rebounds 0
0 OR 0
0 DR 0
0 Assists 0
0 Steals 0
0 Blocks 0
0 Turnovers 0
0 2PT 0
0 3PT 0
0 FT 0
0 Index 0
Team Roster - Efes Pilsen
Team Roster - Partizan

THE TAKE

A big showdown is set to take place in Group D when Efes Pilsen hosts Partizan Igokea on Thursday at 19:15 CET. Both teams faced each other in last season's Top 16 and Partizan beat Efes twice to advance to the Quarterfinal Playoffs. Both teams have fully renovated their rosters and enter the 2008-09 with high expectations. Efes has a new starting playmaker in Milos Vujanic, with young veteran Erden Arslan as his backup. Vujanic already showed that his many injuries belong to the past while Arslan provides creativity and passing skills. Partizan also has a new playmaker in former Efes player Aleksandar Rasic, who will share the point guard duties with Petar Bozic. Streak shooter Uros Tripkovic has not played an official game with Partizan this season, so expect players like Strahinja Milosevic, Cedomir Vitkovac and above all, Milenko Tepic to step up against Efes. At age 21, Tepic has been unstoppable so far this season, but he is facing a good defender like Charles Smith, with long arms and quick legs. Smith leads Efes' battery of elite shooters, also featuring Preston Shumpert and All-Euroleague second team selection Bootsy Thornton, as well as all-around swingman Cenk Akyol. Efes faces severe injury problems, as center Mario Kasun will not be able to play against Partizan. As such, Kaya Peker and Kerem Gonlum will share more minutes at center. Partizan is really deep in the paint, as it features 229cm giant Slavko Vranes and shot blocking machine Stephane Lasme, who will make his Euroleague debut against Efes. One of the key matchups will be at power forward, as veteran Michalis Kakiouzis of Efes faces a similar, younger player in his position, Novica Velickovic of Partizan. Efes needs to play up-tempo and get its shooters involved to beat Partizan. Meanwhile, the guests count on Lasme to intimidate Efes' frontcourt, as well as two Euroleague stars in the making like Velickovic and Tepic. Expect nothing but an exciting game in Istanbul, Turkey on Thursday, as both teams will battle for their first Euroleague win of the season.

GAME QUOTES

Partizan Igokea
  • At 2.28 meters, center Slavko Vranes is the tallest player on a Euroleague Basketball roster at the start of the season.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Euroleague.net

Quotes Head Coaches

ATAMAN, ERGIN
Efes Pilsen
"It's always important to give a good start to the new season, especially if you are in a strong league like Euroleague. Partizan Igokea is a very dangerous team for sure. They were the surprising team of the previous season. They are still strong despite losing Nikola Pekovic from their roster. They are the unbeaten leaders of the Adriatic League. On the other hand, we have some key players which won't play in the game due to injuries. Preston Shumpert, Mario Kasun and Baris Hersek will not be able to play in the game. But of course we are relying on our plans to win."
VUJOSEVIC, DUSKO
Partizan
"Efes Pilsen signed well this summer, they have a new coach and a lot of new players and if they have a weak point, it could be the lack of experience together. Our goal this year is the Top 16, but it will be hard to repeat what we did last season because that was a miracle, and miracles don't happen every day. We suffered significant changes during the summer, too, and we had to change our style according to the players we have now. It is unbelievable that nobody did a thing to save the team we had last year. In general, to compete against the rivals of our group we have to play collective ball. Every game will be like an eliminatory round for us."

Players

ARSLAN, ENDER
Efes Pilsen
"We have a very a strong roster this season and we want to start the new season with a win. Especially in our home court, we don't want to miss a game in Abdi Ipekci. We have a deep roster which is packed with plenty of stars, familiar with the Euroleague. We knew that our opponent Partizan Igokea is the representative of a basketball country which has tradition in Europe. So we take the game very seriously."
TEPIC, MILENKO
Partizan
"Efes Pilsen has high ambitions for this season. Like every year, really. They will be favorite in their own court but nobody can take from us the hopes of winning there. The season opener is always important for both teams as a win in the first game boosts the team's self-confidence."
Milos Vujanic - Efes PilsenEfes Pilsen held on for a hard-fought 61-60 win over Partizan Belgrade on Thursday night at Abdi Ipekci Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. A clutch Milos Vujanic three-pointer with a minute-and-a-half remaining broke a 55-55 tie and the hosts held on down the stretch helped head coach Ergin Ataman’s charges open Group D with a win. Efes seemed to have the game in control as it drilled 6 triples as part of a 24-3 second-period charge that resulted in a 15-point lead. Efes was ahead 35-24 at halftime and 49-37 after three periods. But Dusko Vujosevic’s men never quit and newcomer Stephane Lasme led the fight at both ends as Partizan clawed back, tying the game with less than two minutes to go on baskets by Aleksandar Rasic and big Slavko Vranes. However Vujanic’s three gave Efes the lead for good and despite the best efforts of Novica Velickovic, the hosts finished held on to win. Vujanic led Efes with 17 points and 4 assists, Thornton added 10 points and Kaya Peker and Kerem Gonlum netted 9 each for the winners, who travel to Armani Jeans Milano next week. Velickovic paced Partizan’s scoring with 16, Lasme recorded 11 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocked shots and Zarko Rakocevic added 10 for Partizan, which hosts Real Madrid next week.

Novica Velickovic - Partizan Efes Pilsen keep Partizan at just 2 points for the first five minutes while scoring by Kaya Peker and Kerem Gonlum gave the hosts an 8-2 lead. Partizan answered with a 0-8 burst in only two minutes capped by a Velickovic layup with three minutes left in the period that gave Partizan its first lead of the game, 8-10. Partizan upset Efes’s balance with strong defense and Rakocevic’s layup made it 11-14 as the Serbian champs held the hosts to just 3 points to score in the final five minutes of the first quarter.

Cedomir Vitkovac opened the second quarter scoring with a triple to give Partizan a 6-point edge, but it would be short-lived. Efes caught fire and buried 6 straight three pointers. Charles Smith opened the aerial barrage from the right side of the arc, then Cenk Akyol, Michalis Kakuouzis, Thornton and Vujanic followed as the lead hit double figures. Partizan found just 3 points on a free throw by Milenko Tepic and a Rakocevic layup as Efes went on a 24-3 surge to extend the Efes lead to 35-20. Partizan woke up in the last two minutes of the half and baskets by Lasme and Velickovic cut the gap to 35-24 at halftime.

Partizan pushed harder than in the first half as the third quarter began. The visitors worked harder in the paint for Lasme and the power forward helped cut into the difference with an offensive rebound and free throw to made it 37-29. Efes stayed strong on defense despite struggling on offence and kept its lead in the 10-point range for most of the third period. A Milosevic triple made it 46-37, but a key Thornton layup and an Akyol free throw ended the third period at 49-37.

Partizan’s improved defensive continued to cause trouble for Efes in the beginning of the last period. A Tepic triple gave the visitors hope. The visitors proceeded to keep Efes scoreless for more than three minutes and a Velickovic layup-plus-free throw reduced the difference to 49-46. Gonlum broke the silence for the home team and Peker denied the Partizan defense with a hook to give Efes some breathing room. But Partizan was digging in to win. A Vitkovac's free throw made it a 2-point game midway through the fourth quarter, however a Vujanic layup over Vranes gave Efes some momentum, That disappeared when Rasic and Vranes both scored to knot the game at 55-55 with less than two minutes to go. A Vujanic three pointer with 89 seconds to play gave Efes a 3-point lead, but Partizan didn't give up the fight. A Velickovic fade-away jumper made it 59-57. Smith scored 2 free throws with 14 seconds left to make it a two-possession lead, 61-57. After a Partizan timeout, Rasic turned the ball over, but Efes did the same with Vujanic. But Partizan only had enough time for Uros Tripkovic's long distance triple at the buzzer, which wasn;t enough to the visitors as Efes celebrated a hard-earned opening night win.

Thursday, October 23, 2008
Gökhan Türe, Istanbul
Referees: FACCHINI, FABIO (ITA), CHRISTODOULOU, CHRISTOS (GRE), PEREA, OSCAR (ESP)
Attendance: 3000
By Quarter1234
Efes Pilsen11241412
Partizan14101323
End of Quarter1234
Efes Pilsen11354961
Partizan14243760
Head coach: ATAMAN, ERGIN
Efes Pilsen
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
 3FG
M-A
 FT
M-A
 Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
7 SMITH, CHARLES 31:03 7 1/3 1/6 2/2   1 1   1 2 1   3 1 -1
10 ABI, MUSTAFA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
11 THORNTON, BOOTSY 36:37 10 1/2 2/5 2/4 1 2 3 1   1     4 6 9
12 GONLUM, KEREM 29:03 9 4/6   1/6 1 6 7   2   1   3 5 14
13 VUJANIC, MILOS 32:18 17 5/6 2/2 1/1   2 2 4 2 5     4 4 19
14 PEKER, KAYA 26:32 9 3/9   3/4   3 3   1 1 2 3 3 3 4
15 KAKIOUZIS, MICHAILIS 18:34 3 0/1 1/2   1 2 3           2 1 3
22 ATSUR, ENGIN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
32 GULER, SINAN 0:22                              
33 ARSLAN, ENDER 10:02   0/1 0/1         1 1 2   1 1 2 -2
55 AKYOL, CENK 15:29 6 1/2 1/3 1/2 1   1 1 1       1 2 6
Team                     1         -1
Totals 200:00 61 15/30 7/19 10/19 4 16 20 7 8 12 4 4 21 24 51
50% 36.8% 52.6%
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Head coach: VUJOSEVIC, DUSKO
Partizan
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
 3FG
M-A
 FT
M-A
 Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
5 TEPIC, MILENKO 34:17 7 1/2 1/6 2/3 1 3 4 1 1       1 4 9
8 MILOSEVIC, STRAHINJA 14:08 5 1/5 1/1   4 1 5 3   1   1 5 1 3
10 RASIC, ALEKSANDAR 27:21 2 1/6 0/2   1 1 2 2 1 2   1 3 1 -5
11 TRIPKOVIC, UROS 16:25 3 0/1 1/4     1 1           2 1 -1
12 VELICKOVIC, NOVICA 31:02 16 6/8 0/2 4/6 3 5 8 2   4     3 5 18
13 LASME, STEPHANE 27:13 11 4/9 0/1 3/5 8 6 14   3 2 4 1 3 7 25
14 ALEKSIC, VUKASIN 0:52                              
15 VITKOVAC, CEDOMIR 20:16 4 0/2 1/2 1/2 2 1 3     2     4 1 -2
20 BOZIC, PETAR 6:42     0/2         1   1     1   -3
22 RAKOCEVIC, ZARKO 15:07 10 5/9   0/2 1 4 5 1       1 2 1 8
24 VESELY, JAN 1:56                              
33 VRANES, SLAVKO 4:41 2 1/1       1 1               3
Team                     3         -3
Totals 200:00 60 19/43 4/20 10/18 20 23 43 10 5 15 4 4 24 21 52
44.2% 20% 55.6%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

ATAMAN, ERGIN
Efes Pilsen
"I think we did what we planned before the game, especially on defense. But the thing which we didn't plan was the offensive rebounds we gave up. If Partizan scored just half of the chances of those rebounds, they could have won the game easily. They already scored nearly the half of the points they had from offensive rebounds. Our rotation is damaged because of the injuries we have to Mario Kasun, Preston Shumpert and Baris Hersek. Our other players in this rotation got tired in the last quarter and that's why we gave up too many offensive rebounds. The game ended with an artificial score as we gave the chance to our opponent to score instead of having a six-point difference at the end of the game with our own mistakes. Anyway, it's good to start the new season with a win. I hope we have the missing three players with us against Armani Jeans Milano next week."
VUJOSEVIC, DUSKO
Partizan
"First of all I want to congratulate Efes Pilsen for their win. We have good relations with Efes Pilsen and we are good friends. Both teams changed many players in the roster. Me and my collegue Ergin Ataman did everything we can to make the game exciting with our efforts. The ups and downs are normal, because this is the beginning of the season. Of course, we still have lots of work to do for our teams. If you analyse the game, you can see empty minutes from our side. We had good offense in the last quarter to come back in the game. But we made easy mistakes and lost the game. We have lot of things to do. We will try to work harder to overcome those mistakes."

Players

VUJANIC, MILOS
Efes Pilsen
"It was a kind of game that had too many ups and downs for us. If you just take our second quarter performance, you can describe it as fantastic. But you can also call the last period a disastrous one. Anyway, this is just the beginning of the season and we are not ready 100%. And of course, it's good to win when you are playing just 40%."
BOZIC, PETAR
Partizan
"Of course Efes Pilsen is a great team, even if they have a couple of players injured. They still have plenty of top quality players on their roster without them. We tried our chance tonight with all our might, but couldn't do what we planned in the locker room. We had empty minutes especially in the first half when Efes Pilsen made the score difference. We had an excellent last quarter but it was not enough. If we could play the first three quarters the same way, than we could surprise Efes Pilsen."
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