Turkish League, Regular Season, Game 21: February 22-24, 2008
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Efes Pilsen and Besiktas ColaTurka were both victorious over the weekend to remain tied for the best record in the Turkish League and set up a big clash next week. Efes Pilsen snatched an important 58-60 road win over Oyak Renault to avenge a semifinal defeat in the Turkish Cup semifinal, while Besiktas ColaTurka beat struggling Darussafaka 59-79 on the road without suspended Kaya Peker. The two teams now share 16-5 records. Andre Hutson led Efes with 15 points plus 6 rebounds, while Preston Shumpert finished with 19 points plus 9 rebounds for Besiktas. One win back in third place is Galatasaray Cafe Crown, which edged Mersin Buyuksehir Belediyesi 73-68 in overtime. Bernard King missed a chance to win it from the line in regulation for Mersin, before Huseyin Besok and co. took care of business in the extra five minutes. Besok was the man of the match for Galatasaray with 25 points and 9 rebounds. Meanwhile Fenerbahce Ulker suffered a surprising home loss to CASA TED Kolejliler of Ankara, 70-77 at the Abdi Ipekci Arena. Omer Unver led CASA Ted with 20 points and Ivan McFarlin added 19 points plus 11 rebounds. Turk Telekom suffered its third straight loss by falling to Antalya Buyuksehir Belediyesi 76-78 at home in Ankara. Antalya, which won for the seventh straight time, became the first team to win against Turk Telekom twice this season. In other games, Kepez Belediye beat Pinar Karsiyaka 99-93 in overtime as Mehmet Kacar and Tomislav Ruzic scored 19 points apiece. Mutlu Aku Selcuk University bested Banvit 89-86 thanks to Kevin Braswell’s 34 points and Alpella edged TT Net Beykoz on the road 88-89.
Efes Pilsen snatched an important 58-60 road win over Oyak Renault to avenge a semifinal defeat in the Turkish Cup semifinal. Efes got off to a thunderous start to the game, getting points from Andre Hutson, Kenny Gregory and Ermal Kuqo to take a 3-12 lead in the third minute, which reached 17-28 at the end of the first quarter. But Efes stumbled in the second period, scoring just 8 points as Oyak closed the gap to 32-36 by halftime. Kuqo, Ender Arslan, Kerem Gonlum and Drew Nicholas shined after the break as the visitors pushed their lead to 44-57. But it was déjà vu all over again as Oyak increased the defensive pressure and Efes scored just 3 points in the last 10 minutes. Efes went scoreless for the first six minutes of the quarter until Kerem Gonlum’s layup-plus-free throw made it 52-60. Evren Buker and Richard Chaney tried hard, but could only get within 2 points on Alper Saruhan’s single free throw as Efes held on for a 58-60 win. Hutson led Efes with 15 points plus 6 rebounds, Gregory had 13 points plus 7 boards and Kuqo had 11 points plus 9 rebounds. Chaney lead Renault with 18 points, Buker had 17 points plus 7 rebounds and Alper Saruhan scored 10.
Besiktas ColaTurka beat struggling Darussafaka 59-79 on the road without suspended Kaya Peker. After winning the first quarter 15-18 and the second 13-14, Besiktas showed its real face in the third period by outscoring the hosts 14-24 as Preston Shumpert and Sandro Nicevic caught fire to extend the lead to 42-56 before the last period. Darussafaka tried to fight back through Demetrius Brown and Hakan Erol, but Mehmet Yagmur and Erkan Veyseloglu joined Shumpert and Nicevic in the last period for a comfortable 59-79 win to stay on top of the standings with 16-5 record. Shumpert finished with 19 points plus 9 rebounds, Nicevic had 13 points and both Veyseloglu, Yagmur and Predrag Drobnjak scored 8 each. Erol scored 12 and Brown had 10 for Darussafaka. Galatasaray Cafe Crown defeated Mersin Buyuksehir Belediyesi 73-68 in overtime. Bernard King had a chance to win it for Mersin from the line at the end of regulation, but he missed one and allowed the game to go to an extra period. Huseyin Besok was the man of the match with 25 points and 9 rebounds, Robert Hite scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Chris Owens had 17 points and 9 rebounds in the absence of the suspended Charles Gaines. King scored 17 points and Umit Turkoglu had 12 for Mersin.
Fenerbahce Ulker suffered a surprising home loss to CASA TED Kolejliler of Ankara, 70-77 at the Abdi Ipekci Arena. Fener held a narrow 38-34 halftime advantage, but was outscored 13-26 in the third period as Omer Unver and Ivan McFarlin heated up to give the visitors the lead for good. The best efforts of Willie Solomon and Emir Preldzic weren’t enough for the defending champs down the stretch as CASA TED celebrated the win. Unver led CASA Ted with 20 points, McFarlin had 19 points plus 11 rebounds and Jermaine Dearman and Antawn Dobie added 12 points apiece. Solomon paced Fener with 21 points, Preldzic had 17 points plus 8 rebounds and Damir Kaan scored 12
Turk Telekom suffered its third straight loss by falling to Antalya Buyuksehir Belediyesi 76-78 at home in Ankara. Antalya, which won for the seventh straight time, became the first team to win against Turk Telekom twice this season. Antalya won the first quarter 17-23 and continued to lead the game in the second period with Ersin Gorkem and Ricardo Marsh pushing the visitors to 41-46 at halftime. Marcus Douthit and Marsh helped Antalya to handle the pressure of the home team and the visitors stayed ahead 60-61. Khalid El Amin, Tutku Acik and Chris Williams helped Telekom tie the game second before the end, but the game-winner came from Marsh a second before the buzzer to seal the 76-78 win for Antalya. Marsh scored 28 points, Gorkem had 16 points plus 7 rebounds, Can Akin added 11 points and both Douthit and Jamon Lucas scored 10 for Antalya. El Amin scored 18 points, Acik had 17, Haluk Yildirim 12 and Williams 11 for Telekom.
LAST GAME GAME 21
February 22-24, 2008 | | Day | Match | Result | | Feb. 23 | Darussafaka vs. Besiktas | 59-79 | | Feb. 24 | TTNet Beykoz vs. Alpella | 88-89 | | Feb. 24 | Oyak vs. Efes Pilsen | 58-60 | | Feb. 24 | FB Ulker vs. CASA TED | 70-77 | | Feb. 23 | Turk Telekom vs. Antalya | 76-78 | | Feb. 23 | Galatasaray CC vs. Mersin | 73-68 OT | | Feb. 22 | Mutlu Aku vs. Banvit | 89-86 | | Feb. 23 | Kepez Bld. vs. Pinar | 99-93 OT |
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NEXT GAME GAME 22
March 1-2, 2008 | | Day | Match | | Mar. 1 | Pinar vs. Fenerbahce Ulker | | Mar. 1 | Besiktas vs. Efes Pilsen | | Mar. 1 | CASA TED vs. TTNet Beykoz | | Mar. 1 | Darussaf. vs. Galatasaray | | Mar. 1 | Alpella vs. Turk Telekom | | Mar. 1 | Mersin BSB. vs. Kepez Bld. | | Mar. 2 | Banvit vs. Oyak Renault | | Mar. 1 | Antalya BSB. vs. Mutlu Aku |
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| STANDINGS | TG | W | L | P+ | P- | | 1 | Beşiktaş Cola Turka | 21 | 16 | 5 | 1748 | 1570 | | 2 | Efes Pilsen | 21 | 16 | 5 | 1751 | 1527 | | 3 | Galatasaray Cafe Crown | 21 | 15 | 6 | 1630 | 1481 | | 4 | Antalya Bşb. | 21 | 14 | 7 | 1643 | 1621 | | 5 | Fenerbahçe Ülker | 21 | 14 | 7 | 1686 | 1569 | | 6 | TÜRK Telekom | 21 | 14 | 7 | 1900 | 1709 | | 7 | Pinar Karşiyaka | 21 | 13 | 8 | 1840 | 1782 | | 8 | Kepez Belediye | 21 | 10 | 11 | 1593 | 1601 | | 9 | Mersin Büyükşehir Bld. | 21 | 9 | 12 | 1559 | 1622 | | 10 | Banvit | 21 | 9 | 12 | 1703 | 1651 | | 11 | Alpella | 21 | 8 | 13 | 1512 | 1651 | | 12 | Mutlu Akü Selçuk Üniv. | 21 | 7 | 14 | 1638 | 1820 | | 13 | Casa TED A. Kolejliler | 21 | 7 | 14 | 1599 | 1722 | | 14 | Oyak Renault | 21 | 6 | 15 | 1376 | 1515 | | 15 | TTNet Beykoz | 21 | 6 | 15 | 1554 | 1687 | | 16 | Darüşşafaka | 21 | 4 | 17 | 1510 | 1714 |
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Sunday, February 24, 2008
Gökhan Türe, Istanbul
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