Zach LeDay, Armani Milano survive Bayern Munich in EuroLeague playoffs opener
The opening night of the EuroLeague playoffs saw Zach LeDay and Armani Milano survive a late thriller over Bayern Munich at home (79-78).
The Italians made the second-biggest comeback in the history of the EuroLeague playoffs and took the upper hand in the series (1-0).
With 1.2 seconds remaining, Malcolm Delaney and LeDay teamed up for an alley-oop layup to stun their opponents and take the win.
Before that, the Bavarians led by as many as 19 points shortly before halftime, but came up short eventually and missed the chance to steal the home-court advantage.
“Man, it’s crazy! Coach drew up the play and I just ran in, I just wanted to catch it and to finish it. Crazy game. We’ve got to bounce back and keep getting better in the series.
We wanted to come out [after halftime] and play hard, we knew we didn’t play good in the first half so we wanted to bring energy and that ended up bringing us back into the game. Now we’ve got to capitalize,” LeDay told reporters afterwards.
Armani Milano and Bayern Munich will meet again in less than 48 hours in Game 2 of their EuroLeague playoffs series.
Anadolu Efes rallied past Real Madrid at home in Game 1 of their respective EuroLeague playoff series and came a step closer to the EuroLeague Final Four.
After a hard-fought battle in the first half (44-40), the Turks dominated the “Whites” and secured an easy home victory.
Playing impressive basketball on both ends, the hosts outscored the visitors 46-23 in the last 20 minutes to win by 27 (90-63).
“In the second half, we started to make our shots. We got the point difference and started to play with more confidence.
Of course, this is a playoff game; it doesn’t matter if you win by 1 point or 27 points. It’s just 1-0 and we need to prepare for Thursday’s game,” Efes head coach Ergin Ataman said afterwards, via the official website of the EuroLeague.
Anadolu Efes and Real Madrid will clash on Thursday in Game 2 of their EuroLeague playoffs series.
EuroLeague action continues on Wednesday night, with CSKA Moscow facing Fenerbahce and FC Barcelona playing Zenit Saint Petersburg.