Galatasaray will take their place in the Top 16 tonight after their miracle in the last game of the opening round with some new key additions. Their campaign will open tonight at home against Zalgiris Kaunas, who qualified in third place from Group A with a 5-5 record.
Ahead of the next round, Galatasaray have been busy in the transfer market. Despite losing star forward Furkan Aldemir to the Philadelphia 76ers, they have made some extra signings. Justin Carter was added to the roster on Sunday, arriving from Uşak Sportif. The 27-year-old swingman has averaged 13.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in the Turkish League so far this season, with similar averages in the EuroChallenge competition. Gala's frontcourt has been bolstered by Aleks Maric who signed this weekend from Maccabi Electra Aviv. The center will play against two of his old teams during the Top 16 campaign, when Gala take on Panathinaikos and Maccabi.
Galatasaray haven't been the only team involved in the transfer market. Anadolu Efes signed playmaker Thomas Heurtel from Laboral Kutxa Vitoria, and he is expected to make his debut against his former team on Friday. Efes go into their Friday opening round with confidence after a win against Fenerbahçe in the Turkish League this weekend. Anadolu Efes coach Dusan Ivkovic praised his side after their dominant 85-67 win. The two sides are now joint top of the table with 23 points apiece. With both teams about to embark on their EuroLeague Top 16 campaign, the win will give Efes a significant boost ahead of their Group F game against Laboral Kutxa Vitoria on Friday. Efes share Group F with Fenerbahçe who begin their campaign on Friday, playing CSKA Moscow at home.
Anadolu Efes head coach Dusan İvkovic said, "The derby match was a game of high quality. We played against a very powerful team in Fenerbahçe Ülker and we managed to keep them to 67 points. We were ahead 16-0 in the first five minutes and then got a 17-point lead [19-2]. We made mistakes in the second half and conceded 29 points in our own basket, but the most important thing is the performance we put in. We were dominant against our rivals in all relevant statistics. We kept a team like Fenerbahçe Ülker to under 50 percent shooting in the painted area."
Keep up to date with what’s happening in Turkey,
it’s region and the world.
You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.