“Efes is a very competitive team with good potential even though they started 0-2 in Euroleague so far,” CSKA head coach Dimitris Itoudis said. “Both of their losses happened on the road and they were different: Efes controlled most of the game vs Baskonia before letting the opponents’ run in the end and could not sustain Olympiacos domination from the very first minutes. We analyzed their games, including the Turkish Supercup vs Fenerbahce as well as some domestic league and friendly games. Their main characteristic is the athleticism of the frontline. Efes uses different combinations with Brown, Thomas and Dunston, they can add size with Omic or mobility with Brown at 5-spot. Their main creators are Granger and Heurtel, Cotton helps with his shooting and definitely Osman is playing big role for the team. Efes tries to use the players’ athleticism and they like to play 1-3-1 zone. We have to prepare well and to react after performance in the game against Panathinaikos that we played not on our level. We had 7 days with no games before and this probably kicked us out of rhythm a bit so we have to get back on track and show better basketball this week.”
“Relativity” connections
Nando De Colo played under Efes head coach Velimir Perasovic at Valencia Basket during the 2011-12 campaign.
Efes forward Derrick Brown was a teammate of CSKA forward Nikita Kurbanov at Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar during the 2014-15 campaign.
Efes forward Tyler Honeycutt was a teammate of CSKA big man James Augustine of at Khimki Moscow Region the past two seasons, from 2014 to 2016. They won 2015 EuroCup title together.
Important numbers
Nando De Colo has recorded a performance index rating in double figures in 34 consecutive EuroLeague games.
De Colo netted at least 20 points in last five EuroLeague games, dating back to last season’s playoffs.
De Colo is 1 three-pointer away from reaching the century mark in his EuroLeague career.
De Colo needs 6 steals to reach the century-mark for his EuroLeague career.
Milos Teodosic needs just 22 more points to catch former CSKA great J.R. Holdein for 9th place on the competition’s career scoring charts. He enters Round 3 with 2,366 points, and Holden sits at 2,388 points.
Teodosic is 1 three-pointer away from reaching 400 for his EuroLeague career. He ranks third on the all-time charts.
Nikita Kurbanov has made 13 consecutive free throws in EuroLeague games.
Andrey Vorontsevich needs 12 rebounds to reach 600 for his EuroLeague career.
Victor Khryapa reached 150 in blocked shots for his EuroLeague career last week. He is fifth on all time-list for blocked shots, with Stephane Lasme ranked fourth with 160 and Mirza Begic third with 162.
Khryapa needs 5 more steals to crack the EuroLeague all-time top 10. He enters the game with 211 career steals; former CSKA star Trajan Langdon (216 steals) sits in 10th place.
Khryapa needs 10 more assists to reach 500 for his EuroLeague career. He is 20th on the competition’s career charts.
Kyle Hines needs 2 assists to reach the century mark for his EuroLeague career.
Past matchups
Wins/losses: 12-9
1992-93 – European Cup. Group stage: Efes Pilsen – CSKA: 85-82 (-3)
1992-93 – European Cup. Group stage: CSKA – Efes Pilsen: 87-96 (-9)
1997-98 – Euroleague. Preliminary Round: CSKA – Efes Pilsen: 77-73 (+4)
1997-98 – Euroleague. Preliminary Round: Efes Pilsen – CSKA: 71-63 (-8)
1998-99 – Euroleague. 1/8 finals: Efes Pilsen – CSKA: 73-58 (-15)
1998-99 – Euroleague. 1/8 finals: CSKA – Efes Pilsen: 98-105 2ÎÒ (-7)
2000-01 – Suproleague. Third place game: Efes Pilsen – CSKA: 91-85 (-6)
2002-03 – Euroleague. Top 16: Efes Pilsen – CSKA: 71-69 (-2)
2002-03 – Euroleague. Top 16: CSKA – Efes Pilsen: 66-54 (+12)
2005-06 – Euroleague. Quarterfinals: CSKA – Efes Pilsen: 66-57 (+9)
2005-06 – Euroleague. Quarterfinals: Efes Pilsen – CSKA: 71-75 (+4)
2008-09 – Euroleague. Regular season: CSKA – Efes Pilsen: 90-68 (+22)
2008-09 – Euroleague. Regular season: Efes Pilsen – CSKA: 55-74 (+19)
2010-11 – Euroleague. Regular season: Efes Pilsen – CSKA: 86-72 (-14)
2010-11 – Euroleague. Regular season: CSKA – Efes Pilsen: 78-69 (+9)
2011-12 – Euroleague. Regular season: CSKA – Anadolu Efes: 96-68 (+28)
2011-12 – Euroleague. Regular season: Anadolu Efes – CSKA: 65-82 (+17)
2012-13 – Euroleague. Top 16: CSKA – Anadolu Efes: 90-71 (+19)
2012-13 – Euroleague. Top 16: Anadolu Efes – CSKA: 63-60 (-3)
2014-15 – Euroleague. Top 16: Anadolu Efes – CSKA: 69-78 (+9)
2014-15 – Euroleague. Top 16: CSKA – Anadolu Efes: 88-81 (+6)
Short dossier
Anadolu Efes Istanbul, Turkey
Founded: 1976
Colors: white, blue
Home Court: Abdi Ipekci Arena (12.270 çðèòåëåé)
President: Tuncay Ozilhan
Head Coach: Velimir Perasovic
Website: www.efesbasket.org
Trophy case:
- Korac Cup winner (1996);
- 13-time Turkish champion (1978/79, 82/83, 83/84, 91/92, 92/93, 93/94, 95/96, 96/97, 2001/02, 02/03, 03/04, 04/05, 08/09);
- 10-time Turkish Cup winner (1994, 96, 97, 98, 2001, 02, 06, 07, 09, 15);
- 9-time Turkish President Cup winner (1986, 92, 93, 96, 98, 2000, 06, 09, 10)
