“First of all, I would like to congratulate both teams for this closely contested match, befitting the opening game of the playoffs. It was a very good match. Royal Halı Gaziantep was in the lead in the first half with high-percentage shots from the outside, which in turn demoralized us. We had lost both our matches against Royal Halı Gaziantep in the regular season. In the beginning of the third quarter, we managed to seize the rhythm of the match with aggressive and solid defense. However, we took the most important step in the fourth quarter. We are happy to get a winning start into the playoffs. In the quarter finals, the team to get two wins will advance to the next round. We are happy to have won the first match. We had bad moments in offense, yet we kept on fighting. Starting tomorrow, we will be preparing for our second match and will try to do better...”

Anadolu Efes’s Birkan Batuk also stated his thoughts: “We played in the first match of playoff quarter finals against Royal Halı Gaziantep, against whom we lost both our matches in the regular, and we managed to get the victory. It is true that we were trailing at the halftime, but the character we displayed in the third and fourth quarters with aggressive defense was crucial not only for this match, but also for our upcoming matches. We got a nice win here. However, this match is also a lesson for us. For our upcoming matches, I hope we will first win at Gaziantep, then we will prove our dominance on the court in the semi finals, advance to the finals and become the champions.”