AEK played like a ‘queen’ in Bursa and qualified for the BCL Round of 16

What if he crashed in SEF two nights ago? What if he wore Olympiakos 40? What if he were stripped of the services of Antonis Koniaris, Andreas Petropoulos and Cameron McGriff? AEK showed character and got the victory – qualification for “16” of the Basketball Champions League at the expense of Tofa.

The yellow-blacks put the disappointing first quarter behind, recovered quickly and secured their ticket to the next stage of the competition, with Dimitris Flionis providing the catalyst in the dying seconds with a two and two shots.

Great game by Akil Mitchell (21 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists), Janis Strelnieks (17 points, 6 assists) and Kenny Williams (16 points, 3 rebounds).

In the new group they join, AEK plays against Galatasaray and Unicaja Malaga and is waiting to find out who from Ludwigsburg and Limoges will complete the group.

The race

After 5′ and until the end of the first third, AEK had no rhythm in attack and was repeatedly exposed in defense. So it was -9 (18-9) before the counterattack began. With edge shots accurate and Giannis Strelnieks providing plenty of solutions in creation, Ilias Kanzouris’ team came back stronger and took the lead (22-23 at 15′) before a new Tofa mini-series emerged.

The -4 (42:38) at half time brought a slight lead over the home side, but made it clear – on the other hand – that the yellow-blacks were lucky for the “break” and qualification.

The second half was like watching another team. AEK was much more aggressive in defense, didn’t give Tofas a second chance and gradually took control of the situation. When he even made back-to-back baskets (with Achille Mitchell and Kenny Williams breaking out), things got big. The game was turned on its head and the Yellow-Black lead reached +14 (55-69 at 33′).

As it was a matter of life and death for Tofas, Dimitris Priftis’ team didn’t give up. Everything else. Energy levels skyrocketed, reaching -1 (75-76) with two minutes remaining thanks to Rob Gray. Dimitris Flionis, on the other hand, quickly defended the Yellow-Black lead with a two-pointer and two shots in the last thirty seconds of the game.

THE REFEREES: Rosso-Litska-Attard.

THE DECADES: 18-9, 42-38, 52-61, 82-85.

TOFAS (Receivers): Braimo 6 (8 rebounds), Buyuktuncel 5 (1), Gray 18 (2 3-pointers, 4 assists), Milaknis 9 (3/5 3-pointers, 5 rebounds), Milaknis 9 (3), Ugyurlu 12 (1 3-pointers, 9 assists), Demir, Ennis 17 (2), Thompson 7 (4 rebounds), Toure 8.

AEK (Kantzouris): Flionis 8, Mitchell 21 (8/12 2-pointers, 5/7 shots, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 fouls), Strelnieks 17 (2/6 2-pointers, 3/5 3-pointers, 4 /4 shots, 6 assists), Williams 16 (2/3 2-pointers, 3/3 3-pointers, 3/5 shots), Xanthopoulos, Frazier 6, Madsen 4, Miles 13 (3 3-pointers, 7 rebounds) , Papadakis.

Tofa’s team stats: 22/41 2-pointers, 9/21 3-pointers, 11/19 shots, 33 rebounds (22 defense + 11 offense), 19 assists, 14 turnovers, 5 steals, 2 blocks.

The team statistics of AEK: 21/41 2-pointers, 9/19 3-pointers, 16/22 shots, 34 rebounds (24 defense + 10 offense), 21 assists, 15 turnovers, 6 steals, 4 blocks.