NEPTUNAS DEFEATED THE 11-TIME TURKISH CHAMPIONS (PHOTOS)

The Lithuanian basketball vice-champions, Neptunas from Klaipeda, gained a very important victory, which may allow them to step up into the next Euroleague Top-16 stage, at the Svyturys arena, witnessed by over 5,500 fans. The basketball players, coached by Kazys Maksvytis, defeated the 11-time Turkish champions, the Istanbul Galatasaray team, where Martynas Pocius, a basketball player of the National Lithuanian team, now plays, with the score of 82:72.

The Turkish basketball player, Sinan Guler, scored the first 2 points at the start of the match. Shortly afterwards, a show of Neptunas attacks started: Mustafa Shakur made a slam dunk, Deividas Gailius scored a downtown shot, and Martynas Mazeika scored a lay-up. After these attacks, the basketball players from Neptunas moved forward with the score of 7:2, and sometime later, Donatas Zavackas added 8 points to the advantage with the score of 22:14.

The Turkish basketball players took the initiative and tipped over the score in the middle of the second quarter, after the free throws made by Zoran Erceg, and a successful attack by Kerem Goslum - 28:32. However, Neptunas were not at sixes and sevens, and restored the balance with the score of 37:37, and they were in the lead by 3 points with the score of 40:37 before the half-time break, after a downtown shot by Deividas Gailius.

The basketball players from Neptunas hit the Turks with their downtown shots at the end of the third quarter: two triples were scored by D. Gailius, one by Valdas Vasylius and the advantage of the Klaipeda team amounted to 9 points (63:54). However, during the last minute of the third quarter, the guests managed to score six points without response and reduced the deficit to 3 points yet again - 63:60.

In the middle of the fourth quarter, the head coach of the Galatasaray team, Ergin Ataman, got a technical foul. Mindaugas Girdziunas scored a free throw, and, in another attack, an impressive slam dunk made by D. Gailius, raised the basketball fans, who crowded the Svyturys arena, onto their feet, increasing the Neptunas advantage to 7 points with the score of 72:65.

Later on, the advantage crept into double figures - 82:69.

Neptunas - Galatasaray - 82:72 (22:18, 18:19, 23:23, 19:12).

Neptunas: Deividas Gailius - 23 (8 rebounds), Mustafa Shakur - 16, Arnas Butkevicius - 11, Valdas Vasylius and Donatas Zavackas - 7, Keith Benson - 6, Simas Galdikas - 4, Martynas Mazeika and Mindaugas Girdziunas - 3, Egidijus Dimsa - 2, Justas Sinica didn't score any points.

Galatasaray: Zoran Erceg - 24, Vladimir Micov - 12, Sinan Galer - 9, Patrick Young - 9 (8 rebounds), Ender Arslan - 8.

Galatasaray is one of the oldest Turkish clubs, founded in 1904. They have been the Turkish champions 11 times. Galatasaray have won the Turkish Basketball Championship, held since 1966, five times - in 1969, 1985, 1986, 1990 and 2013. They won the Turkish Cup three times - in 1970, 1972 and 1995. Galatasaray are participating in the Euroleague for the third time over the last four seasons. This Istanbul team entered the TOP-16 stage in the 2011-2012 season. During last season (2013-2014), Galatasaray managed to enter the TOP-8 stage.

The last match of the first Euroleague round will be played by Neptunas in Spain with the local Valencia Basket Club team on 18 December (on Thursday) at 8 pm.

Before this match, Neptunas will play on the regional level (in the LKL championship) against the Nevezis team in Kedainiai on 15 December at 6 pm.

We would like to remind you that Neptunas have gained their fourth victory in the most prestigious European basketball tournament - the Euroleague. All the victories have been gained in Klaipeda: Neptunas defeated the Serbian Cup Winners of the last two years, Belgrade Crvena Zvezda, at the Svyturys arena with the score of 83:81 on 23 October, they defeated last season's European Cup Winners, Valencia Basket from Valencia (Spain), with the score of 94:87 on 13 November and Vitoria Laboral Kutxa (Spain) with the score of 80:79 on 20 November.