Besiktas, led by coach Dusan Alimpijevic, defeated Cedevita Olimpija by 73-66, securing their third victory in the new EuroCup season.
Cedevita Olimpija didn’t have the best start to the match in Istanbul, allowing Besiktas to take an early lead of 12-7. Despite the poor offensive performance by the Slovenian guests, they managed to cut the deficit to 20-17, led by Justin Cobbs.
Besiktas didn’t show a better performance at the beginning of the second quarter, and this was punished with a 12-2 run by Simone Pianigiani’s team, giving Cedevita Olimpija a 31-27 lead. After a time-out called by Dusan Alimpijevic, the Turkish team improved significantly and regained the lead before halftime, with the score at 43-38.
A spirited Angel Delgado ignited an 8-0 run at the beginning of the third quarter, giving Besiktas their first double-digit lead of the match at 51-41. Cedevita Olimpija remained significantly behind until the last 30 seconds when they narrowed the gap to minus seven at 59-52.
Cedevita Olimpija managed to get within half a point of the deficit at the start of the fourth quarter, but that was all they could do until the end of the game. The brilliant Jonah Matews shifted the momentum back in favor of the black and white, quickly extending the lead to nine points at 69-60. Justin Cobbs took on the responsibility in the closing minutes, trying to reduce the deficit as much as possible, but time was definitely not on his team’s side.
Jonah Matews was the top scorer for Besiktas with 18 points, while Dewayne Stewart stood out for Cedevita Olimpija with 15 points.
Besiktas remains one of the four undefeated teams (along with London Lions, Hapoel Tel Aviv, and Paris) in Group A, while Cedevita Olimpija has suffered its third loss of the season (0-3).
In the next round, Besiktas will face the Wolves, while Cedevita Olimpija will host Prometey.
BESIKTAS – CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA 73:66 (20:17, 23:21, 16:14, 14:14)
Referees: Carlos Peruga, Igor Dragojevic, Steve Bittner
Besiktas: Mathews 18, Hammonds 5, Aksu, Needham 7, Mitchell 12, Konan 4, Yigitoglu 2, Ozbek, Delgado 6.
Cedevita Olimpija: Stewart 15, Armand 10, Sow 10, Radovic, Cobbs 14, Glas, Blazic 4, Matkovic 3, Jones 6, Scuka 4, Klobucar, Shashkov.