May 24, 2012
Turkish League, Game 24: March 17-18, 2007
Kerem Gonlum - Efes Pilsen Efes Pilsen needed overtime to take down Darussafaka on the road 93-96 and remain in the hunt for first place in the Turkish League. Drew Nicholas scored 5 of his 14 points in the extra period as third-placed Efes improved to 21-3 ? one game behind league co-leaders Fenerbahce Ulker and Turk Telekom. Will Solomon scored 21 and dished 5 assists as Fener outclassed Galatasaray Cafe Crown 57-91. Turk Telekom got it done on both sides of the floor, topping Beykoz 66-83. Jan-Haendrik Jagla scored 21 points to lead Turk Telekom, which held Beykoz to 6 second-period points and then outscored the hosts 14-30 in the third. Edmund Saunders paced Beykoz with 21 points and 15 rebounds. In other games, Rasheed Brokenborough scored 28 to lead Tofas past Mersin Buyuksehir Belediyesi 69-73, CASA TED Kolejliler defeated Tekel 77-64 behind 24 points from Erek Jay Hansen, Oyak Renault downed Mutlu Aku Selcuk University 78-64, Banvit dropped Pinar Karsiyaka 92-80.

Fenerbahce Ulker outclassed rivals Galatasaray Cafe Crown 57-91 on the road. The game in front of 3,000 fans at Ahmet Comert Arena was a shocker for the home side, which was stunned by Fener's extraordinary performance. The visitors took an early lead with Oguz Savas scoring points inside and Will Solomon outside for a 16-22 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Fenerbahce keep the home team scoreless for nearly 7 minutes in the second period with Mirsad Turkcan, Ibrahim Kutluay, Solomon and Omer Onan pouring it on during a 0-20 run on the way to a 27-50 halftime lead. All hope for a Galatasaray comeback were denied by Fenerbahce as it extended the lead up to 35 points before settling at 42-73 heading into the fourth quarter. Damir Mrsic's second straight three-pointer gave Fener its biggest lead, 48-84, midway through the fourth quarter and the visitors rested the rest of the way. Solomon lead Fener with 21 points, 5 assists and 3 steals, Onan had 14 points, Savas 11 and Turkcan and Kutluay added 10 each. Tufan Ersoz scored 13 and Murat Kaya 10 for Galatasaray.

Efes Pilsen struggled, but managed to beat city rivals Darussafaka 93-96 in overtime and remain only one game back of the co-leaders. Efes started strong and led 7-17 after 5 minutes thanks to effective shooting from Cuneyt Erden, Mustafa Abi and Drew Nicholas. But Darussafaka responded immediately with guard Henry Dobie. Polat Kocaoglu and Oktay Yilmaz joined the tiny guard on a 15-5 run to tie the game at 22-22 at the end of the first quarter. Dobie gave Darussafaka its first lead at the start of the second quarter, but Efes's 1-3-1 zone defense stopped the home team, while Efes came back with 15 unanswered points for a 24-37 lead through Antonio Granger, Kerem Gonlum and Nikola Prkacin. The visitors held on for a 39-47 halftime advantage. In the third quarter, Darussafaka closed the gap with some fine play from Kocaoglu and Dobie, but Efes replied with Erden and Prkacin to remain ahead. However Darussafaka's zone defense helped the home team to cut the lead to 59-61 at the end of the third period. The game stayed tight throughout the final period. Efes came close to winning in regulation after Prkacin's free throws made it 78-81. But Kocaoglu's three pointer 30 seconds to go tied it and Efes failed to answer before the final buzzer. Nicholas stepped up in the extra period, scoring 5 of his team's 15 points to lead the way to victory. Nicholas finished with 14, while Gonlum recorded a double-double of 21 points and 15 rebounds. Erden added 17, Abi 13 and Granger 10 for Efes. Mike Jones netted 24, Dobie scored 22 and dished 6 assists, Kocaoglu added 18 and Turetken 10 for Darussafaka.

Besiktas Cola Turka was stunned by relegation-threatened Alpella in 86-87 overtime. The game was former Besiktas star Ufuk Sarica's first game on the sideline after taking over for head coach Murat Didin, who went to Deutsche Bank Skyliners of the German League. Besiktas came out flat and trailed 38-47 at the break with Curtis Withers and Omer Asik scoring inside. Besiktas continued to have problems on offense in the third quarter, as Alpella remained ahead 60-69. In the last quarter, Baris Ozcan, Cevher Ozer and Aubrey Reese scored straight points to help Besiktas tie the game in the last minute and force overtime at 75-75. But Ogun Sevinc and Marshall Strickland scored the crucial baskets in the extra period and Besiktas wasn't able to match as Alpella walked away with a very important road win. Strickland finished with 21 to lead Alpella, Withers added 17, Caner Oner 14, Sevinc 15 and Omer Asik 12. Reese had 23 and Donnell Harvey and Baris Ozcan scored 16 each for Besiktas.


LAST GAME GAME 24 - March 17-18, 2007
DayMatchResult
Mar. 17CASA TED Kolejliler vs. Tekelspor77 - 64
Mar. 18Besiktas Cola Turka vs. Alpella86 - 87 OT
Mar. 17Darussafaka vs. Efes Pilsen93 - 96 OT
Mar. 18Galatasaray vs. Fenerbahce Ulker57 - 91
Mar. 17Beykozspor vs. Turk Telekom66 - 83
Mar. 17Mersin BSB. vs. Tofas69 - 73
Mar. 18Banvitspor vs. Pinar Karsiyaka92 - 80
Mar. 17Oyak Renault vs. Mutlu Aku Selcuk78 - 65
NEXT GAME GAME 25 - March 31 - April 1, 2007
DayMatch
-Tekelspor vs. Besiktas Cola Turka
-Fenerbahce Ulker vs. Beykozspor
-Alpella vs. Darussafaka
-Efes Pilsen vs. Galatasaray Cafe Crown
-Mutlu Aku Selcuk vs. CASA TED
-Banvitspor vs. Oyak Renault
-Tofas vs. Pinar Karsiyaka
-Turk Telekom vs. Mersin BSB.


STANDINGSTGWLP+P-
1Turk Telekom2422219521646
2Fenerbahce Ulker2422219611618
3Efes Pilsen2421318521566
4Galatasaray Cafe Crown2415917451728
5Besiktas Cola Turka2314917041621
6Casa Ted Kolejliler24131118431820
7Banvitspor24121218071732
8Mersin Bsb.24111317241803
9Pinar Karsiyaka24101417961850
10Darussafaka23101317181754
11Mutlu Aku Selcuk Uni.2491518181843
12Tofas2481615921709
13Oyak Renault2471716251771
14Beykozspor2471716781845
15Alpella2471716021802
16Tekelspor2432115121821
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Gökhan Türe, Istanbul

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