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Turkish League, Regular Season, Game 22: March 1-2, 2008
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Besiktas ColaTurka became the sole leader of the Turkish League with a 17-5 record after spanking shorthanded Efes Pilsen 72-64 at Akatlar ColaTurka Arena in another wild weekend of Turkish basketball. While last placed Darussafaka stunned Galatasaray Cafe Crown and Fenerbahce Ulker lost at Pinar Karsiyaka, Antalya Buyuksehir Belediye climbed to third place. Efes, which featured a slim roster after deciding to release Drew Nicholas, Loren Woods and Rashad Wright for skipping last week’s Euroleague trip to Belgrade, fought hard but ran out of steam against Besiktas, which was led by Kaya Peker’s 22 points and 9 rebounds. Relegation threatened Darussafaka made the biggest surprise of the round by beating Galatasaray Cafe Crown 67-61 as Eric Chatfield scored 19 points. Galatasaray is joined by Antalya and Turk Telekom in a three-way tie for third place. Antalya edged Mutlu Aku Selcuk University 83-80 behind Ricardo Marsh’s 27 points, while Turk Telekon snapped a three-game slide by beating Alpella on the road 79-94 thanks to Erwin Dudley’s 18. The best individual performance of the weekend came from Quinton Hosley, who posted 43 points and 19 rebounds to lead Pinar Karsiyaka past Fenerbahce 84-77. In other games, CASA TED Kolejliler defeated TTNet Beykoz 88-77 behind Jermaine Dearman’s 22 points, Kepez Belediye topped Mersin Buyuksehir Belediyesi 89-95 as Keith Simmons led the way with 23 and Oyak Renault bested Banvit 75-77.
Besiktas Cola Turka defeated struggling Efes Pilsen 72-64 at Akatlar ColaTurka Arena to take sole possession of the top spot in the Turkish League standings with a 17-5 record. Besiktas has now swept Efes in the regular-season series and would have a 1-0 lead if the two were to meet in the playoffs. Efes, which entered the game shorthanded after deciding to release Drew Nicholas, Loren Woods and Rashad Wright for skipping last week’s Euroleague trip to Belgrade, started with a small 2-6 lead, but Besiktas responded with a 7-0 run behind Rick Apodaca and Kaya Peker points to take an 18-15 lead. But Efes got 6 straight points between Andre Hutson and Scoonie Penn to end the first quarter up 20-21 despite a last second layup from Peker. Besiktas found its rhythm in the second quarter, but Ermal Kuqo and Mustafa Abi kept the home team from extending the difference and at halftime the host led only 39-38. Besiktas strengthened its defense in the third period and made it hard for Efes to score, while used Peker and Sandro Nicevic inside and Mehmet Yagmur outside extended the lead. Sinan Guler’s 4 points gave Besiktas a 52-44 lead, but Kerem Gonlum and Abi ended the third period at 53-50. It was Besiktas again ruling the game with its tough defense in the last period. Efes fought back with Abi triples and Hutson points, Apodaca free throws with 24 seconds to go made the score 72-64 as Besiktas earned a big win. Peker led Besiktas with 22 points and 9 rebounds, Yagmur had 13 points, Nicevic scored 12 points and added 7 boards, while Apodaca had 10 points. Hutson scored 17 to lead Efes while Kuqo had 12, Abi 11 and Penn 10.
Pinar Karsiyaka beat Fenerbahce Ulker 84-77 using a 22-4 third-quarter performance to surge ahead. The two sides now each have 14-8 records and are tied for sixth in the standings. The defending champs led 14-19 at the end of the first quarter, but Quinton Hosley shined in the second quarter to carry Karsiyaka back to the game and ended the first half just a point behind Fener, 38-39. Pinar Karsiyaka made a shocking 15-0 charge to start to the second half, again leaded by Hosley, as it built a 60-43 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Fener fought hard in the last period, but couldn’t turn the tables as Karsiyaka sealed the victory. Hosley led Karsıyaka with 43 points, 19 rebounds and 4 steals, Sean Marshall had 17 points and Geno Carlisle scored 10 points. Willie Solomon and Omer Onan scored 14 each, Gasper Vidmar had 12 and Tarence Kinsey added 10 for Fener.
Relegation threatened Darussafaka made the biggest surprise of the 22nd round by beating Galatasaray Cafe Crown 67-61 at Ayhan Sahenk Arena. The home team made a fascinating start to the game and kept Galatasaray scoreless for nearly nine minutes to win the first quarter 16-3. Galatasaray found itself in the second period and took the control of the game through Robert Hite and Murat Kaya, taking a 27-29 lead with Cuneyt Erden’s free throws with two minutes lef ttill the break. However Dacka followed Eric Chatfield to tie the game at halftime, 32-32. It was a balanced third quarter, while Darussafaka jumped into the last quarter 50-49 ahead. The home team made a 7-0 start to the last period and again pushed its lead to 8 points. Galatasaray tried to force the game through Kaya and Hite, but it was not enough to save the win. Chatfield led Dacka with 19 points and Ceyhun Altay added 11. Kaya had 19 points, Hite 14 and Erden 11 for Galatasaray. Turk Telekom ended its three-game losing streak by trashing Alpella of Istanbul 79-94 on the road. Telekom made a fast start, leading 15-26 at the end of the first quarter and 38-45 by halftime. A 12-29 third period was too much for Alpella to handle and Telekom coasted through the last 10 minutes to cinch the win. Erwin Dudley scored 18, Kris Lang had 16, Khalid El Amin 15, Ivica Jurkovic 13 and Haluk Yildirim 11 for Telekom. Marshall Strickland and Damien Kinloch scored 17 each to pace Alpella, Serhat Cetin scored 16 and James Hughes added 12 for Alpella.
LAST GAME GAME 22
March 1-2, 2008 | | Day | Match | Result | | Mar. 2 | Pinar vs. Fenerbahce Ulker | 84-77 | | Mar. 2 | Besiktas C. T. vs. Efes Pilsen | 72-64 | | Mar. 1 | CASA TED vs. TTNet Beykoz | 88-77 | | Mar. 1 | Darussafaka vs. Galatasaray | 67-61 | | Mar. 1 | Alpella vs. Turk Telekom | 79-94 | | Mar. 1 | Mersin BSB. vs. Kepez Bld. | 89-95 | | Mar. 2 | Banvit vs. Oyak Renault | 75-77 | | Mar. 1 | Antalya BSB. vs. Mutlu Aku | 83-80 |
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NEXT GAME GAME 23
March 7-9, 2008 | | Day | Match | | Mar. 7 | Galatasaray vs. Besiktas | | Mar. 9 | Mutlu Aku vs. Alpella | | Mar. 8 | Kepez Bld. vs. Darussafaka | | Mar. 8 | Turk Telekom vs. CASA TED | | Mar. 8 | Oyak Renault vs. Antalya | | Mar. 8 | Fenerbahce Ulker vs.Mersin | | Mar. 8 | Efes Pilsen vs. Banvit | | Mar. 9 | TTNet Beykoz vs. Pinar |
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| STANDINGS | TG | W | L | P+ | P- | | 1 | Beşiktaş Cola Turka | 22 | 17 | 5 | 1820 | 1634 | | 2 | Efes Pilsen | 22 | 16 | 6 | 1815 | 1599 | | 3 | Antalya Bşb. | 22 | 15 | 7 | 1726 | 1701 | | 4 | Galatasaray Cafe Crown | 22 | 15 | 7 | 1691 | 1548 | | 5 | TÜRK Telekom | 22 | 15 | 7 | 1994 | 1788 | | 6 | Fenerbahçe Ülker | 22 | 14 | 8 | 1763 | 1653 | | 7 | Pinar Karşiyaka | 22 | 14 | 8 | 1924 | 1859 | | 8 | Kepez Belediye | 22 | 11 | 11 | 1688 | 1690 | | 9 | Mersin Büyükşehir Bld. | 22 | 9 | 13 | 1648 | 1717 | | 10 | Banvit | 22 | 9 | 13 | 1778 | 1728 | | 11 | Casa TED A. Kolejliler | 22 | 8 | 14 | 1687 | 1799 | | 12 | Alpella | 22 | 8 | 14 | 1591 | 1745 | | 13 | Mutlu Akü Selçuk Üniv. | 22 | 7 | 15 | 1718 | 1903 | | 14 | Oyak Renault | 22 | 7 | 15 | 1453 | 1590 | | 15 | TTNet Beykoz | 22 | 6 | 16 | 1631 | 1775 | | 16 | Darüşşafaka | 22 | 5 | 17 | 1577 | 1775 |
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Gökhan Türe, Istanbul
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Euroleague / ULEB Cup teams
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