ISTANBUL (Türkiye) - The way Game 1 of this Quarter-Finals series ended, you just had to expect Game 2 between Galatasaray MCT Technic and La Laguna Tenerife would have been decided late, too.
That's exactly what happened in Istanbul. While Galatasaray flirted with the upset on April 1, Tenerife shortened their deficit on the road, but the hosts eventually survived in front of the Turkish fans.
With the 64-62 victory at home, Gianmarco Pozzecco's team survived and forced Game 3, having to go on the road once again in Tenerife. That's when we will find out who's heading to Badalona.
Turning Point
While Galatasaray kept the lead for the vast majority of the encounter, even leading by ten points (61-51) midway through the fourth quarter, Tenerife's spirit emerged at the end of the game.
Led by Patty Mills' seven straight points, the black-and-gold powerhouse cut the deficit only to one possession in clutch time, but eventually the hosts found a way to escape.
As John Meeks knocked it down from deep with 2:20 minutes left, Pozzecco's team's defense stepped up in Tenerife's ultimate attempt to get ahead. They fought to secure the win and got it.
Player of the Game
Even if you lead for 32:49 minutes, in the BCL Quarter-Finals, you are never really sure about winning the game unless some of your players step up big time.
On Wednesday, Galatasaray had to rely heavily on John Meeks' fearless ability to knock down shots while also being an important presence on the team's frontcourt.
Already being the highest scorer on the Turkish team, he didn't waste the opportunity to enter the red-and-yellow fans' memories in Game 2, banking in the decisive late three-pointer.
He ultimately finished with 17 points over 6-of-7 from the field and 6 rebounds.
Stats don't lie
We all know how three-pointers matter in modern basketball, don't we? Well, looking at how Galatasaray (9-of-22, 40.9%) and Tenerife (5-of-24, 20.8%) shot the ball in Game 2, that's already an important stat.
Txus Vidorreta's team forced Galatasaray to 13 turnovers, scoring 11 points off them, but it wasn't enough.
Bottom line
While John Meeks was the clutchest player of the night for Galatasaray, James Palmer Jr. added 10 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and an amazing defensive possession on Patty Mills late in the game.
There were two players on Tenerife's roster finishing in double-digits despite the final outcome: Giorgi Shermadini (12 points and 4 rebounds) and Patty Mills (11 points).
Both Marcelinho Huertas (9 points and 10 assists) and Tim Abromaitis (9 points and 10 rebounds) flirted with double-doubles.
Moreover, Tenerife won by one single point (84-83) in Game 1, and Galatasaray answered by winning by two points (64-62) in Game 2.
You must tune in for Game 3 on April 15 at 21:00 CET.
They said
"I don’t want to disrespect anybody, but first of all, I wanna start from our fans. That was incredible when I signed here, I started to dream about playing in front of a full gym. They’re famous because of their passion and love, everybody in the world knows that’s something huge. When my friend Vlado (Micov) gave me this big responsibility, I started to dream about involving the fans, and I gave my best to help the players to join like achieve to play one game like this. It was really amazing for me to live this game and we won because of them." - Galatasaray MCT Technic head coach Gianmarco Pozzecco
"I think we fought, you know, they made it really tough really physical. We didn’t have a lot of looks and that made it tough for us to knock them down. We didn’t have our best game shooting, but a lot of it was their defense so credit to them. They played a tough game and we fought, but just couldn’t get there at the end." - Tim Abromaitis, La Laguna Tenerife
"For us it was just grit. Up and down and swings in the game, but it just shows you how the first quarter went that we held them to just two points for most of the quarter and then they came back and we just battled it out for the whole game." - Jerome Robinson Jr, Galatasaray MCT Technic