Zach LeDay scored the winning basket for Olimpia Milano with 1.2 seconds on the clock as the side denied playoff rookies Bayern Munich their first win on Tuesday. Anadolu Efes cruised past 10-time winners Real Madrid in the earlier game, one in which Efes were never troubled and will head into game two with an added confidence.
In Milan, fourth seed Olimpia Milano returned to the EuroLeague playoffs for the first time since 2014 and it took a buzzer-beater from LeDay to secure a 79-78 win over Bayern Munich. In a game largely dominated by Bayern, Milan held on and produced an impressive comeback in the fourth quarter and take game one. The game started off with both sides keeping close but the German side took off in the second quarter to go into half time at 44-27, with their biggest lead being 19 points.
During the break, Bayern head coach Andrea Trinchieri said he was expecting a tough response from Milan in the second half and he insisted that his side would have to try and “match their energy”. While they did just that and more to stay on their dominant run throughout the third quarter, the final rubber was a different story. LeDay and Sergio Rodriguez combined for 30 points, with Rodriguez scoring most of his 13 points in the final 11 minutes of the game. With the deficit reduced and the game into it’s final two seconds, it looked all but over for Milan as James Gist made both free-throws after being fouled on his drive. But after a timeout by Ettore Messina, the play resumed at 1.2 seconds and from an alley-oop pass LeDay tipped the ball in amid the team’s celebrations.
While LeDay and Rodriguez led Milan in scoring, Bayern’s Dennis Seeley put up a great performance, scoring a team-high 23 points and six rebounds.
In Istanbul, Anadolu Efes crushed Real Madrid 90-63 in a game which the third seed showed up and could not be stopped. Efes’ Rodrigue Beaubois led the scoring with 19 points as center Sertac Sanli added 16 and guard Shane Larkin scored 14.
For Real Madrid, it was forward Trey Thompkins with 13, scoring 60% from three, who led the points while center Walter Tavares had quite the game with 10 points and nine rebounds.
