The result was sweet revenge for the İstanbul side, which had lost to Maccabi by a 10-point margin when the two teams met in Tel Aviv. Interest in this game was at its peak as some 8,000 basketball fans packed the Abdi İpekçi Sports Hall.The VIPs in attendance included Efes Chairman Tuncay Özilhan, EuroLeague CEO Jordi Bertomeu as well as Beşiktaş soccer team Italian player Matteo Ferrari.
In a fast-paced game, Efes led 21-14 in the first quarter and also performed well in the other three quarters to carry the day. Mario Kasun was outstanding, hitting a double-double for Efes with 14 points, 13 rebounds and two assists. David Bluthenthal was the top scorer for the Israeli side with 15 points.
Scorers at a glance
Efes: Mario Kasun 14 (13 rebounds, 2 assists), Charles Smith 11 (3 rebounds), Igor Rakocevic 6 (2 rebounds, 3 assists), Preston Shumpert, Kerem Tunçeri 8 (2 rebounds, 2 assists), Bootsy Thornton 7 (6 rebounds, 4 assists), Kaya Peker 2 (11 rebounds, 2 assists), Bostjan Nachbar 6 (3 rebounds, 2 assists), Bojan Popovic 2 (2 rebounds), Ermal Kurtoğlu 2 (1 rebound), Daniel Santiago 2 (2 rebounds), Ender Arslan 3 (1 assist).
Maccabi: Raviv Limonad 4 (2 rebounds), Derrick Sharp, Andrew Wisniewski 5 (3 rebounds), Doron Perkins 9 (6 rebounds, 4 assists), Guy Pnini 3, Alan Anderson 7 (2 rebounds, 3 assists), Stephane Lasme 2 (5 rebounds, 1 assist), Chuck Eidson 2 (2 rebounds, 2 assists), David Bluthenthal 15 (5 rebounds, 1 assist) and D’Or Fischer 9 (7 rebounds).
