ULEB Cup draw profile: Galatasaray Cafe Crown
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Galatasaray Cafe Crown advanced to the Final 32 of its first ever ULEB Cup by finishing second place with a 7-3 record in a challenging Group C which included Akasvayu Girona and Hemofarm. Head coach Murat Ozyer's Turkish club started the competition with a two-point thriller at home over title candidates Girona - with small forward Mehmet Tufan Ersoz scoring the only 18 points he would tally in ULEB Cup action for Galatasaray. Ozyer's men followed the victory with a convincing 33-point win at Hanzevast Capitals before stumbling to an 8-point loss at home against Spirou Charleroi. Five players scored in double figures but only one other player scored at all for Galatasaray. That would be a problem for Ozyer most of the season. Galatasaray barely won at Asesoft and then handled Hemofarm at home to improve to 4-1. But in the Week 1 rematch at Girona, Galatasaray only had three players score in double figures and the team shot just 43% in losing by 11 points - and with it losing the tiebreaker with Girona which would cost Ozyer's team first place. Galatasaray rebounded well with a 34-point home win over  Hanzevast but lost by two points at Spirou Charleroi before holding off Asesoft in Week 9. With second place going to the winner of the Week 10 showdown, Galatasaray came up big with a solid victory at Hemofarm as four players scored in double figures. All told, four players averaged in double figures, led by 16.8 points by playmaker Dee Brown, who also had 3.0 rebounds, a team-high 4.1 assists and 1.5 steals. Power forward Charles Gaines averaged 14.3 points and 7.3 rebounds, shooting guard Robert Hite had 13.9 points and 4.6 rebounds and power forward Chris Owens chipped in 13.0 points and 5.3 rebounds. Ozyer's problem most of the season was getting a balanced attack outside his big four. Galatasaray had just six players score points in five games during the regular season. That kind of imbalance with scorers and non-scorers may not work in the later stages as Galatasaray hopes to continue its strong run.
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POST-DRAW REACTIONS | Galatasaray Cafe Crown head coach Murat Ozyer :"Asvel Basket is one of the most important European clubs, with well-known experience in the international basketball arena. They have got skillfull players that have played in Euroleague and ULEB Cup. The first players of theirs I can recall - like Laurent Foirest, Uchenna Nsomwu and Robert Conley - already have international experience. Therefore, as a club and players, they have very important international cup experience. I strongly believe that both away and home matches will offer highly spectacular games with nice atmosphere. After 10 years since we last showed up in European basketball competition, we are proud to be back in the European basketball arena and we will show our best to qualify for the Last 16." |
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