Dusan Ivkovic: “We performed really well in all aspects of the game....”

Defeating Telekom 93-75 in the third match of the Turkish Basketball League play-off quarter finals, reaching the semi finals, Anadolu Efes coach Dusan Ivkovic stated his thoughts at the post-game press conference:

“First of all, I would like to congratulate my lads for making it to the semi finals. I believe we deserved the win today. However, this was only a stepping stone for us to reach our goals. We had a nice start into the game, unlocking it when stuck. We performed aggressively on defense.  We performed really well in all aspects of the game, especially behind the three point line. However, we must not overlook our gaps. We had turnovers and Telekom turned them into easy points. We were also stuck in some parts of the game, lacking creativity. I would like to congratulate Telekom's coach and players. Telekom is a good and quality team. We played serious games against them in the regular season. From the match when we were defeated at Turkish Cup qualifiers, the two teams have played very tough matches against each other. We have a short amount of time until the semi finals, and we will play against Trabzonspor. We have to keep working hard and prepare as good as we can for the match on Friday...”

Efes’s Birkan Batuk also stated his thoughts at the press conference: “In our first match against Telekom, we had taken advantage of being the home team to win. We did not have a good start to the second match in Ankara. Although we were good on offense, we were not strong enough on defense as an away team, losing the match to have the series tied 1-1. Today, we played a much better game in this third and last game of the series, highlighting our strength on defense. We will play against Trabzonspor in the semi finals. They will be a worthy opponent. I hope we will win the first two matches at home, as well as the first match on the road, making our way into the finals...”

Tags:
  • Telekom
  • Birkan Batuk
  • Dusan Ivkovic
  • Turkish Basketball League