Anadolu Efes beat Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv to clinch 11th EuroLeague victory

By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) - Anadolu Efes defeated Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 105-91 in a Round 26 game in Riga, Latvia on Thursday to secure their 11th EuroLeague win.

Shane Larkin led the Istanbul club to their second straight win with 22 points and six assists while his teammate Rodrigue Beaubois produced 20 points at Arena Riga.

"The most important thing is winning the game. The more we got closer to the end we communicated with the bench about getting also the point differential," Larkin said after the game.

"Important win to go in the right direction, for our confidence and for sticking together," he added.

Ercan Osmani scored 13 points and seven rebounds and Tibor Pleiss added 12 points for the Turkish club.

“The guys did another amazing job. They showed we have this Efes character in us and fought for 40 minutes against a team that never gives up and just keeps coming," said Efes coach Tomislav Mijatovic.

Maccabi Playtika's Wade Baldwin IV was the highest scorer of the game with 26 points. Antonius Cleveland and Bonzie Colson each scored 12 points for the Israeli club.

Efes are currently 13th with 11 wins and 15 losses while Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv are 10th with 13 victories and 13 defeats.

In another Thursday match, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan beat Real Madrid 81-76.

Armani Milan's Shavon Shields scored 27 points and Nikola Mirotic produced 23 points. Real Madrid's Dzanan Musa netted 12 points, but it was not enough to win for the Spanish side.

With this result, Real Madrid suffered their fourth loss and EA7 Emporio Armani Milan secured their 11th win.