Anadolu Efes - Karsiyaka

Turkish BSL Finals Game 1
Istanbul, June 13, 19:00 CET

The finals of the Turkish BSL will bring a duel between the teams that showed during the spring that they play the best attacking basketball in Turkey - Efes and Karsiyaka.
Efes, the proud two-time Euroleague champion, will be a strong favorite at the farewell of the famous coach Ergin Ataman from the club - and in, according to many, the "last dance" of a powerful generation.
During the playoffs, the Istanbul club showed how effectively they can play when they count on all healthy stars. In each of the six playoff games, Efes scored at least 86 points, and in four at least 90 points. Before that, after the end of the performance in the Euroleague in mid-April, Ataman's team made a record of 5-1 in the Regular season BSL. Only in one of those six games Efes scored less than 94 points!
On the other hand, the brave team of Karsiyaka exceeded expectations and showed that systemic attacking basketball can prevail against a group of better individuals, such as Turk Telekom in the semi-finals.
So far in the playoffs, Karsiyaka has a record of 5-1, and in each of those matches the team has scored at least 84 points, and in five matches at least 91 points. It is clear that the same attacking approach is expected in the final against Efes. In the club from the suburbs of Izmir, the two-time champion of Turkey, they are aware that only with exceptional shooting performances they can threaten the clear favorite Efes.
In their match played on April 9, Karsiyaka defeated the then weakened Efes 98:83 on their home court. That match is the best indicator, what kind of tempo of the transitional game should be expected. It was marked by home team guard Jaylon Brown with 21 points (four three-pointers from six shots). Karsiyak's game will depend a lot on his inspiration. Interestingly, in the semi-final series against Turk Telekom, Brown was not overly inspired and scored double-digit points in only one of the four games.
In the game played on December 4 last year, Karsiyaka won as a guest in Istanbul after overtime 112:111! The spectacle was marked by Colombian guard Brian Angola with as many as 31 points. He is in excellent form and Efes guards will have a big task to stop him.
Of course, Efes is the favorite, but this match played in December is an indication that Karsiyaka can introduce the away game to a somewhat uncertain last minutes, and that the variants of playing the handicap on the home team are not reliable.
It is much more certain that both teams will have an excellent opportunity to express themselves offensively. And that Efes, with all its healthy stars (guards Micic and Larkin in the first row, and the fantastic winger Clyburn) will have a worthy rival in the fight for the 16th Turkish championship title in the club's history.