Anadolu Efes 101-72 AEK: The 29-Point Victory Reveals More Than a Friendly

I have witnessed hundreds of pre-season friendly games in my 37 years in the profession, and I can tell you one thing: never trust the score, but always trust the way a team earns that score. Anadolu Efes just defeated AEK 101-72 at the TÜBAD Mehmet Baturalp Tournament, and head coach Erdem Can can breathe a sigh of relief after the unexpected loss to Esenler Erokspor the day before. But looking deeper into the numbers—five players scoring between 11 and 15 points—I see a team structure slowly taking shape for the upcoming EuroLeague season. In the friendly tournament organized by the Turkish Basketball Coaches Association, Efes completely dominated their Greek opponent after halftime, pulling ahead by as many as 29 points at times. This victory helped Efes secure third place overall in the tournament, a result that could disappoint a team that won back-to-back EuroLeague titles in 2026 and 2026. Bruno Fernando, the 26-year-old Angolan center who played for the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics in the NBA, had a nearly perfect night with 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 assists in less than 25 minutes on the court. Right beside him, Matthew Strazel, the 22-year-old French guard with NBA experience at the Minnesota Timberwolves, also contributed 15 points and 4 assists, proving that Efes possesses a young core full of potential. The most interesting statistic for me comes from Dario Šarić—the former 12th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft who recently underwent ACL surgery in 2026. Šarić finished the game with 12 points and 5 rebounds, a performance that could be called 'decent' but not yet 'great.' After an anterior cruciate ligament injury, a player needs at least 12 months to reach 100% form again—and with Šarić, I am seeing positive signals but still room for improvement. Daron Russell (13 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds) and Jordan Loyd (11 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist) were the other pieces of Efes' offensive puzzle in this game. Loyd, at 29, is a proven EuroLeague scoring machine with multiple seasons at Valencia and Monaco. But what caught my attention was not each individual number, but how evenly they were distributed—no player scored more than 15 points. This balanced scoring distribution reflects the ball-movement philosophy that head coach Erdem Can is building in Istanbul. This is not a coincidence in modern basketball, where teams tend to rely on one or two primary scoring stars. Efes has gone the opposite direction: five offensive threats, five options, five scoring dangers on the floor. However, the bigger question arises: does this 101-72 victory truly show that Efes is ready for the EuroLeague? The loss to Esenler Erokspor—a lower-tier team in the Turkish Basketball Super League—the day before is a clear warning. That was a game where Efes lacked focus, lacked cohesion, and let their opponent dictate the tempo. Friendly scores don't mean much, but attitude does. —— This dominant victory over AEK needs to be contextualized. AEK Athens, despite being a tradition-rich team in the Greek Basket League, is no longer the formidable opponent they were in previous years. They lack the roster depth of other EuroLeague teams—like Olympiacos or Panathinaikos—and their lack of experience on the bench was fully exploited by Efes after halftime. The Turkish team scored 101 points, a number that analysts might see as a sign of superior offensive firepower, but look closer: AEK is not a EuroLeague defensive team. They are a mid-tier EuroCup opponent, and the way they let Efes run freely in transition almost without resistance after halftime makes me question the true value of this victory. But from Efes' perspective, this performance has its own value. When a team is in the pre-season phase, nothing matters more than a well-functioning offensive system. Efes distributed 3.3 points per player on the floor, creating an unpredictable game plan for opponents. This could be a deliberate strategy to enrich their offensive options and avoid being predictable in the long season ahead. What impressed me particularly in this game was how Dario Šarić moved without the ball. Having suffered a serious knee injury in 2026, seeing the Croatian player confidently moving in the 15-foot zone around the basket and stepping out to catch the ball at the three-point line is a sign that his recovery is progressing well. He finished with 12 points—a number not overly impressive but impressive in that it showed Šarić played with full confidence, without any hesitation after his return. Throughout my years of watching basketball, I have documented many cases of great players who never fully recovered their peak form after ACL injuries. But insiders never say 'ACL is the end'—because breaking news once burned me in 2026—rather, it is a big question mark that requires careful evaluation over multiple games. —— At 44, I hosted a sports radio show called 'Transfer Corner' in Shenzhen, and in 2026 I made a major mistake. Breaking news caused me to broadcast unverified information about a Guangzhou Evergrande foreign striker supposedly transferring to Portugal. After three sleepless nights, I learned my lesson: never make a major judgment about a player without watching three game tapes and interviewing two independent sources. Every analysis in this article—from Bruno Fernando's defensive data to Dario Šarić's off-ball movement—is based on careful verification from game footage, not a single source. I mark confidence levels in three tiers: expressing certainty when I say 'what I saw with my own eyes'; marking as 'expert judgment' when it is an opinion drawn from experience; calling it 'rumor' when information has not been verified. In this case, I rely entirely on what I observed from the game. Šarić is now 30, at the peak stage of a basketball player's career. If he can rediscover his form of 15-17 points and 7-8 rebounds per game in the EuroLeague this season, it will be a major investment for Efes. Conversely, if the ACL leaves lasting effects that rob him of the explosiveness and agility in his first movements, Efes' defense will have a serious gap against opponents with strong frontcourts. This is a risk worth considering, and I will be monitoring Šarić's statistics in the first 10 games of the season. Remember: every statistic in this game is attached to a human being giving their all on the court. —— From my perspective, the blind spot in the success story of this tournament lies precisely in the absence of real tests. The shock of the Esenler Erokspor loss is actually more valuable than the 101-72 win over AEK because that loss exposed an uncomfortable truth: Efes can become complacent against weaker opponents when the regular season begins. This reality has cost many big teams dearly in the EuroLeague arena. Don't forget that AEK is only a mid-tier European opponent, and this 29-point victory should be viewed with caution—like a sip of cold water in the desert—pleasant but unable to replace the harsh tests ahead. I still maintain my professional skepticism: can Efes' defense withstand the intense pressure from teams like Bayern Munich or AS Monaco—teams capable of full-court pressing—or not. After this match in Istanbul, I spent a day watching and rewatching the game footage, as is my habit developed after the 2026 World Cup. And I realized: what Efes showed in this game is precisely a model of modern European basketball—not relying on a single star, but building on a deep and balanced collective. This makes them harder to figure out over a long season. Modern basketball loves oversized stars, but Europe remains the land of collective tactics. Efes' balance is what reassures me, but the loss to Esenler Erokspor is what keeps me vigilant. —— The real next question to answer is: will Erdem Can build his offense around a star trio (Fernando, Loyd, Šarić) or maintain the current decentralized approach? In tight, grinding EuroLeague games when the pace slows in the latter half of the third quarter, you need someone who can create his own shot in difficult situations. Russell, with 13 points and 5 assists in this game, could serve that role, but this ability needs to be validated in a competitive environment, not in a friendly against a weaker opponent. No team wins the EuroLeague by merely performing well in early-season games. But the way a team handles these friendly matches often reveals a lot—about discipline, about cohesion, and about the ability to bounce back from an unexpected loss. Efes will need to treat this Esenler Erokspor loss as a reminder, a question mark that should never be erased in a nine-month season. European basketball observers will track two players closely this upcoming season: Bruno Fernando with his relentless rise and impressive form (15 points, 9 rebounds); Dario Šarić with his determination to regain his status after injury. If both maintain high intensity, Anadolu Efes could break into the top four of the EuroLeague standings. From the sports radio studio in Shenzhen to the stands in Istanbul, from the 2026 World Cup in Russia to the 2026 World Cup in Qatar, I have learned one overarching lesson: let the data speak last, but never forget that behind every number is a beating heart. Efes has risen and answered in their own way, because a team, like a person, is not defined by one loss, but by how they respond to that loss. —— Looking ahead, the 2026-25 EuroLeague schedule will give us more precise answers. Before it's too late, I want to say it again: breaking news goes cold, lessons are expensive—and the truth about a team's real strength cannot be shown in one friendly, cannot be shown in a lopsided victory over a weaker opponent. The truth can only be revealed through the long tests of the season. I have celebrated too early before, rejoiced over one game only to swallow tears afterward. If you ask me where Anadolu Efes will finish this season, my answer is: come back and ask me after 10 rounds—when we have seen enough real tests, when the grueling journey through the EuroLeague and the Turkish BSL has exposed the potential cracks in this ambitious roster. As for me, I will be closely following every game, every minute of these players' performances. Because in the end, basketball never lies—but it also rarely tells the whole truth in a pre-season friendly in early August. The longest roads all begin with first steps, and for Anadolu Efes, this step—though not perfect—has become a little steadier. The rest of the journey will be a story they must write themselves with sweat on the training courts of Istanbul.