By Can Erozden
Defending Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champions Real Madrid beat Anadolu Efes 103-80 in a Thursday Round 2 game in Istanbul.
Visitors Real Madrid led the first quarter 26-24 at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall. The Spanish powerhouse extended the gap to double digits before the break, making it 55-41. Real Madrid didn’t let Anadolu Efes narrow the gap in the third quarter, which ended 80-60 in favor of the Whites.
Real Madrid are leading the EuroLeague table as they improved to 2-0 after defeating Anadolu Efes.
The Turkish team, which won the EuroLeague in 2021 and 2022, are now in 17th position, having a 0-2 win/loss record.
Real Madrid's French forward Guerschon Yabusele produced 22 points to be the game's top scorer.
French guard Fabien Causeur scored 18 points for Real Madrid. Argentine playmaker Facundo Campazzo racked up 15 points and made 10 assists for the victors.
US guard Darius Thompson led Anadolu Efes, scoring 20 points.
The Istanbul club's French guard Rodrigue Beaubois added 19 points.
In their next game, Anadolu Efes will face France's LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in Istanbul on Oct. 17.
Real Madrid will play against Lithuania’s Zalgiris Kaunas in a Round 3 game at Madrid's WiZink Center on the same day.
- Thursday's results:
Anadolu Efes - Real Madrid: 80-103
ALBA Berlin - Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz: 86-91
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne - Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade: 62-88
Panathinaikos - Bayern Munich: 78-71
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan - Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (Game suspended over armed conflict in Israel)