Krstic proving to be Mr Reliability for Anadolu Efes
ISTANBUL (Turkish Airlines Euroleague/EuroBasket 2015) - It's quite a luxury that Anadolu Efes coach Dusan Ivkovic has, knowing what his veteran Serbia center Nenad Krstic is going to give the team on a nightly basis.
The 31-year-old, who got hurt three games into the Turkish Airlines Euroleague campaign and did not play again in the Regular Season, returned to the lineup in January at the start of the Top 16.
Though not at his best the first couple of months back, Krstic got into a groove in late February and has been a model of consistency ever since, scoring points, grabbing rebounds and perhaps most important of all, leading.
He provided some of the highlights on Tuesday night in Anadolu's 75-72 triumph over Real Madrid in the Euroleague playoffs, a game the hosts won when Matt Janning hit a three-pointer at the death.
Krstic ended up scoring 17 points after making seven of nine shots from the floor and converting all three free-throw attempts.
The result cut Real's lead in the series to 2-1 and ensured that Anadolu Efes, one of this season's surprise teams, lived to fight another day.
Game 4 will be on Thursday.
My team is growing up game by game. - Ivkovic
Ivkovic, who coached Krstic for many years in Serbia's national team, including in 2010 when they reached the Semi-Finals of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, has proven once again that he is among the best in his profession.
Dusan Ivkovic: “İkinci çeyrekteki savunmamız maça tutunmamızı sağladı...” http://t.co/6qfqVxXdBg pic.twitter.com/7jFoSGS2ML
— Anadolu Efes SK (@AnadoluEfesSK) April 22, 2015
Krstic is not the only member of a national team to play for Anadolu Efes.
The club also has Dario Saric of Croatia, who had a game-high 15 rebounds on Tuesday, and rising Turkish national team star Cedi Osman.
The latter of those two, Osman, had eight points, five rebounds and a swat of Sergio Rodriguez that has gone viral.
Cedi Osman'ın Sergio Rodriguez'e yaptığı inanılmaz blok! https://t.co/G5tPDWBlc7
— EurohoopsTR (@EurohoopsTR) April 21, 2015
Osman played in the 2013-14 Euroleague and showed signs he was going to be a special player.
His confidence began to soar last summer after he scooped the MVP honor at the U20 European Championship following Turkey's triumph in that competition.
Osman then earned a place in Turkey's squad for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain, where he put in some important performances for a team that reached the Quarter-Finals.
Krstic, Saric and Osman each figure to be important figures once again for their respective national teams this summer at EuroBasket 2015.
Serbia and Turkey will play their Group Phase games in Berlin while Croatia will be at home in Zagreb.
FIBA
