Regular Season Game 13 - January 23, 2008 CET: 19:15 Local time: 20:15 - ABDI IPEKÇI SPORTS HALL

Records

Ave.   Ave.
0-0 Final Four 0-0
0-0 Playoffs 0-0
0-0 Top 16 0-0
8-4 Regular Season 6-6
8-4 Overall 6-6

Referees

Crew Chief
FACCHINI, FABIO, Italy
Referee
CEREBUCH, GUERRINO, Italy
Umpire
CHAMBON, DAVID, France

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
79.6 Points 73.0
34.1 Rebounds 28.6
9.6 O. Rebounds 8.8
24.5 D. Rebounds 19.8
12.8 Assists 9.5
6.5 Steals 8.9
2.8 Blocks 2.6
11.8 Turnovers 12.6
53.0 % 2PT 51.1 %
37.7 % 3PT 32.2 %
72.4 % FT 73.4 %
86.3 Index 72.0

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
16.4 / Nicholas Points 15.4 / Wright
7.1 / WOODS, LOREN Rebounds 7.8 / MASSEY, JEREMIAH
2.7 / HUTSON, ANDRE OR 3.1 / MASSEY, JEREMIAH
4.6 / WOODS, LOREN DR 4.7 / MASSEY, JEREMIAH
2.6 / PENN, SCOONIE Assists 1.9 / KALAITZIS, GEORGIOS
1.3 / PENN, SCOONIE Steals 1.4 / MASSEY, JEREMIAH
1.4 / WOODS, LOREN Blocks 1.0 / MASSEY, JEREMIAH
2.5 / Nicholas Turnovers 2.3 / CASTLE, T.
61.8 % / GREGORY, WILLIAM KENDRICK 2PT 62.5 % / Serapinas
62.5 % / GREGORY, WILLIAM KENDRICK 3PT 60.0 % / KALAITZIS, GEORGIOS
88.9 % / Erdogan FT 100.0 % / ILIADIS, SAVVAS
15.4 / HUTSON, ANDRE Index 19.8 / MASSEY, JEREMIAH

THE TAKE

Efes Pilsen will try to move up the Group B ladder when it hosts Aris TT Bank on Wednesday at Abdi Ipekci Sports Hall in Istanbul, Turkey. After downing the group co-leader Lietuvos Rytas last week to improve to 8-4 and with a game against another co-leader, Unicaja, to come in Week 14, head coach David Blatt’s squad still has a chance to climb in the standings and improve its seeding ahead of the Top 16 draw. Meanwhile Aris, which is fifth in the group at 6-6, has also clinched a spot in the next round and must beat Efes, win next week and hope for an Efes loss against Unicaja to move up to fourth place at the end of the regular season. Bracey Wright scored 20 points and Jeremiah Massey came through with a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds to lead Aris to a 67-64 win when the two sides met in Thessaloniki, Greece, earlier in the season. Despite some inconsistent recent performances, Massey remains Aris’s star and one of the top power forwards in the Euroleague. Aside from Massey and Wright, small forward Dimitrios Tsaldaris has come into own lately, averaging 13.3 points in the last three games after posting 7.4 points per game in the first nine. Recent signing Darius Washington could also begin to become more of a scoring threat for head coach Gordon Herbert. Efes boats a deeper squad with a host of players that can step up on any night, though recently two have shined brighter than the rest. Playmaker and Week 10 MVP Scoonie Penn is averaging 19.4 points and 4.5 assists in the second half of the season and center and Week 11 MVP Loren Woods has double doubles in each of the past two games and is among the league leaders in blocked shots and offensive rebounds despite averaging just 22 minutes per game. The key matchup for the hosts could be physical power forward Kerem Gonlum on Massey. The hard-working big man is not counted on for offense, but if his defense can take Massey out of the game, it’s a winning proposition for the hosts. Meanwhile the X-factor for Aris could be the contribution it gets from starting point guard Terrel Castle and Washington, who’ll compete with Penn, Rashad Wright and Drew Nicholas in a crucial positional battle. With players like Ermal Kuqo and Andre Hutson who cans core in the paint and Kenny Gregory who can light it up in transition, Efes has the tools to secure the home win. However Aris is a tough squad that won’t roll over for anyone, making this into what could be a true thriller.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Euroleague.net

Quotes Head Coaches

BLATT, DAVID
Efes Pilsen
"It has been a very competitive season so far for all the teams in our group. Aris TT Bank has proved that they are a dangerous team. They have great players like Jeremiah Massey and Bracey Wright, which they caused a lot of trouble for our defense in the first game in Thessaloniki. What makes me feel comfortable before this game is the performance of my team in the last game against Lietuvos Rytas. We had a great game against the leaders and want to keep it going for the remainder of the season. Of course, we are expecting for our fans to come to Abdi Ipekci and support us the way they did in the Rytas game last week."
HERBERT, GORDON
Aris TT Bank
"It's not a do-or-die game for us after confirming mathematically our spot in the Top 16. However, it's an excellent opportunity to help both Darius Washington and Vladimir Boisa to integrate into the team and to test our chemistry against a very strong team like Efes Pilsen. The rest of the Euroleague games are very important for Aris in order to improve ourselves both individually and as a team as well. I would like to see my players being very tough on defense and executing a pair of new drills that we have worked the last couple of days. Even if we are already in the Top 16, our motivation to win should remain at the maximum. This is the only way to beat Efes Pilsen on the road."

Players

WOODS, LOREN
Efes Pilsen
"We are coming close to the end of the first phase and every game is important as a final game. Our goal is to reach to the top of the standings in our group and I’m feeling that we can do it, because we are different than before. Our game is improving every day and the guys on our team are more competitive than ever. Everybody helps each other and that makes the team game. That’s what we need. When I remember the game we played against Aris TT Bank in Thessaloniki, I only remember that we lost a game, which we could win easily. So we don’t want to repeat our mistakes, only want to win it."
TERRY, REYSHAWN
Aris TT Bank
"At the Euroleague level, any team has chances to win on the road. It's important for us to be aggressive from the starting point of the game in order to reduce Efes Pilsen's confidence. They seem to be at their peak at this point of the season but I am pretty sure that we can beat team. However, it's necessary to control the tempo and make the right offensive decisions at each part of the game. Additionally, we have to stay focused on our defensive rotations in order to prevent them from shooting without pressure because they have great slashers like Drew Nicholas. We are ready to fight for every ball on any possession and gain this victory."
Hanno Mottola - Aris TT Bank Aris TT Bank scored an impressive 74-84 road win over Efes Pilsen on Thursday night at Abdi Ipekci Sports Hall in Istanbul, Turkey. With the victory, Aris improved to 7-6 and can pass Efes for fourth place in Group B if it beats Maccabi Elite next week and Efes falls to Unicaja. Efes, which dropped its second home game of its last three, fell to 8-5 this season. Efes led for much of the first half, taking a 25-14 lead early in the second period, but Reyshawn Terry led a 0-7 charge before halftime to get the visitors within 34-31 at the break. Hanno Mottola tied the game with a three to start the second half and Savvas Iliadis soon introduced his hot hand to the game and Efes never recovered. The deficit was manageable for most of the third and fourth quarters, but unable to regain the lead, the hosts grew frustrated, began taking poor shots and eventually Darius Washington stepped up to seal a valuable road win for Aris. Mottola scored a season-high 22 to lead the visitors. It was his most points scored in a Euroleague game since netting 23 for Scavolini Pesaro in an overtime win over Real Madrid in March 2005. Jeremiah Massey added 19 points and 9 rebounds, while in just his second game with the club Washington scored 16. Iliadis finished with 11 points. Drew Nicholas paced Efes with 20 points, Kenny Gregory added 13, Loren Woods posted 10 points and 9 rebounds and Ermal Kuqo had 10 points.

Both teams went inside in the early going, with Kerem Gonlum and Woods creating points for Efes, while Mottola and Massey answered the same way to keep the score balanced. It wasn’t until Nicholas took the place of Rashad Wright a little before the end of the period that Efes pulled away. Nicholas scored 5 points – a three-pointer and then a fade-away jumper in the last seconds – to give a 17-10 lead to Efes after 10 minutes.

Kenny Gregory - Efes PilsenAris was trying to cool down the game while Efes did the opposite to increase the lead to double digits immediately in the second period. Gregory made it 22-12 and then another triple from Nicholas increased it to 25-14. Washington broke the silence for Aris with a triple, then a jumper a minute later and a basket-plus-free throw to reduce the difference to 6 points. Efes increased the lead back again to 10 points when Scoonie Penn and Nicholas scored, but the visitors finished the half with 7 unanswered points in the last 160 seconds – 5 points from Terry and 2 Massey free throws to end the first half down only 34-31.

Mottola started to the second half with a triple to complete a 0-10 Aris run and tie the game at 34-34. Then Iliadis jumped to the front row with consecutive three-pointers. The guard gave Aris its first lead with his first bomb and later his third from downtown put the visitors ahead 46-50. Kuqo kept Efes in the game, but Massey’s clever penetration inside and jump shot over Woods ended the third quarter with Aris leading 51-54.

The barrage of Aris three-pointers continued into the fourth quarter as the visitors strengthened their lead and gained confidence. Mottola made a three-pointer followed by a Bracey Wright triple to give Aris a 55-60 lead. Massey and Wright increased the lead to 9 points as Efes lost the control of the game, started putting up panic shots and helped Aris grow the lead more and more. Washington’s layup at with a minute-and-a-half remaining made the score 69-82 and his next basket sealed the win at 70-84 to seal the outcome.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Gökhan Türe, Istanbul
Referees: FACCHINI, FABIO (ITA), CEREBUCH, GUERRINO (ITA), CHAMBON, DAVID (FRA)
Attendance: 7700
By Quarter1234
Efes Pilsen17171723
Aris TT Bank10212330
End of Quarter1234
Efes Pilsen17345174
Aris TT Bank10315484
Head coach: BLATT, DAVID
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
4 NICHOLAS, DREW 31:28 20 4/6 3/8 3/3   3 3 1 2 3     2 3 17
5 PENN, SCOONIE 32:38 6 2/3 0/3 2/2   1 1 5 3       3 2 10
6 WOODS, LOREN 27:54 10 4/6   2/2 3 6 9   1 3 2   2 3 18
9 GREGORY, KENNY 25:50 13 4/9 1/3 2/2   3 3 1 1 3   2 2 1 5
10 ABI, MUSTAFA 14:32 2 1/1       1 1           2   1
11 PACUN, BORA HUN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12 GONLUM, KEREM 11:40 7 3/6   1/1   1 1 1   1   2   1 4
13 WRIGHT, RASHAD 10:58   0/1 0/1     3 3 1   1   1 1   -1
23 KUQO, ERMAL 17:09 10 4/4 0/1 2/5 1 2 3 1         3 4 11
32 HERSEK, BARIS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
33 ARSLAN, ENDER 6:37 3 0/1 1/2     1 1 1 1 1         3
34 HUTSON, ANDRE 21:14 3 1/4   1/1       1 1     1 1 2 2
Team                     1         -1
Totals 200:00 74 23/41 5/18 13/16 4 21 25 12 9 13 2 6 16 16 69
56.1% 27.8% 81.3%
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: HERBERT, GORDON
Aris TT Bank
# 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 TERRY, REYSHAWN 21:56 9 2/4 1/3 2/2   5 5 1   1 2     2 14
8 WRIGHT, BRACEY 26:20 7 2/7 1/3     1 1 3     1   3 2 4
9 KALAITZIS, GEORGIOS 20:13     0/1     2 2   3 2     3 1  
10 ILIADIS, SAVVAS 18:41 11 1/3 3/3     2 2 1   1       1 12
11 BOISA, VLADIMER 16:05           3 3     1     3 2 1
12 SKORDILIS, GAIOS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
13 MOTTOLA, HANNO 27:20 22 5/10 3/4 3/3   2 2 3 1   1   4 3 22
14 MASSEY, JEREMIAH 34:05 19 7/14 1/3 2/2 6 3 9 2 1   2 2 1 2 23
16 TSALDARIS, DIMITRIOS 13:30   0/1     1   1   1 3     1   -3
18 KARADOLAMIS, DIMITRIOS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
19 TSAIRELIS, MICHALIS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
20 WASHINGTON, DARIUS 21:50 16 5/5 1/1 3/3   4 4 2   4     1 3 20
Team                   1           1
Totals 200:00 84 22/44 10/18 10/10 7 22 29 12 7 12 6 2 16 16 94
50% 55.6% 100%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

BLATT, DAVID
Efes Pilsen
"Congratulations to Aris TT Bank for their great match winning effort in the second half of the game. From our point of view, the thing is that we had three top-level games just in seven days and this is what we couldn’t handle. Aris TT Bank was the third of those game and we weren’t resistant enough to overcome. We played really well against Lietuvos Rytas, but then we failed in the games both against Fenerbahce Ulker and Aris TT Bank. We weren’t able to do what we had planned. But for sure, we have to refresh ourselves and bring back the character of our game immediately."
HERBERT, GORDON
Aris TT Bank
"First of all, I congratulate all my players for their great effort to win this very important game. My players are all performed well, both the starters and the others coming from the bench. They all did great jobs in offence and also defense. They were really good in controlling the weapons like Drew Nicholas , Kenny Gregory and Scoonie Penn. We had an excellent win here in Istanbul and I hope it helps us to improve our game. I'm also happy about the way my players responded when they were 10 points behind in the first half. They didn't accept it and it's a good sign fort he future."

Players

ARSLAN, ENDER
Efes Pilsen
"It's really terrible to lose at home when you are challenging for the top. We played really bad tonight and didn't deserve to win. They had a good percentage from the three-point line and that’s what we couldn’t answer. I think we still have a chance to finish in the second position. But it’s only possible if we beat Unicaja Malaga in the last game."
KALAITZIS, GEORGIOS
Aris TT Bank
"I believe that we won the fair way. Efes Pilsen is a very good team and especially in their home court, it's not easy to beat them. We focused on the game in all 40 minutes. We did a great job especially to stop them inside the paint. That was the key for the win."
No pictures yet
There is no video yet
Turkey: SKYTURK
Ukraine: MEGASPORT
Greece: Supersport 1
Internet: EUROLEAGUE.TV
Czech Rep.: CT4 SPORT (Delayed)