Turkish League, Regular Season, Game 30: April 26-27, 2008
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The Turkish League regular season drew to a close Sunday with eight teams moving on to the playoffs and two dropping down to the second league. Besiktas Cola Turka, which wrapped up the top spot in the regular season last week, beat CASA TED Kolejliler of Ankara 91-95 in Ankara in overtime. Predrag Drobnjak posted 22 points and 7 rebounds for Besiktas, which will face Banvit in the quarters. Banvit outlasted Darussafaka 85-93 in overtime to secure its playoff berth. Defending champion Fenerbahce Ulker smashed Mutlu Aku Selcuk University 122-66 as Omer Onan led six Fener scorers in double digits with 17 points. Fener, which placed third, faces Antalya Buyuksehir Belediyesi in the quarters. Antalya finished in sixth after losing its regular season finale to Mersin Buyuksehir Belediyesi 71-70. Galatasaray Cafe Crown topped Efes Pilsen 92-76 in a back-an-forth battle that saw Dee Brown record 25 points and 6 assists. In the quarterfinals, Efes meets Pinar Karsiyaka, which relegated Alpella with a 92-69 win, while Galatasaray faces Turk Telekom, which bested TTNet Beykoz 88-99. On Saturday, Kepez Belediyesi beat Oyak Renault 63-54. Alpella and TTNet Beykoz were relegated to the second division.
Galatasaray Cafe Crown smashed Efes Pilsen 92-76 at Ayhan Sahenk Arena and finished the regular season in fifth place, setting up a quarterfinal matchup with Turk Telekom. Also important for Galatasaray was the fact that it leveled the season series with Efes Pilsen, which would be crucial if they meet again in the playoffs. Efes was very affective on offence in the early going as Serkan Erdogan, Kenny Gregory and Ermal Kuqo led the visitors to a 15-19 lead after 10 minutes. Dewarick Spencer fired up Efes with triples and Andre Hutson joined him for a 0-11 charge to extend the lead to 15-30. However Galatasaray found itself and pushed harder with strong defense, while Chris Owens led the hosts back on the offensive end. Owens tied the game at 33-33 with less than two minutes to go in the half and Charles Gaines’s three-point play gave Galatasaray its first lead, 36-35. Still a Kuqo layup made it 36-37 at halftime. Galatasaray continued to roll in the third period and a Dee Brown triple pushed the home team’s lead to 53-48. Efes then responded with a 0-9 run with Spencer and Scoonie Penn putting the visitors ahead once more. But Galatasaray pushed for a 13-3 finish thanks to Cuneyt Erden, Brown and Murat Kaya that gave the hosts a 66-60 lead at the end of the third period. Efes lost its discipline in the last period as Galatasaray extended the lead up to 19 points on three-pointers from Huseyin Besok, Owens, Brown, Kaya and Cenk Akyol to win comfortably. Owens finished with a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds for Galatasaray, Brown had 21 of his 25 points in the second half plus 6 assists, Besok posted 19 points and 6 rebounds and Kaya scored 10 for Galatasaray. Kerem Gonlum had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Gregory scored 12 points, Spencer and Kuqo added 11 points each and Hutson 10 for Efes.
Fenerbahce Ulker had maybe its easiest victory of the season against Mutlu Aku Selcuk University by outclassing the Konya side 122-66 at Abdi Ipekci Arena. The home team had Omer Onan and Tarence Kinsey on fire in the first quarter, which Fener won 38-16. Mirsad Turkcan and Semih Erden took their place in the second quarter on score and Fener built a 66-33 halftime lead, essentially wrapping up the result with 20 minutes to go. Onan led six Fener scorers in double digits with 17 points, Turkcan and Kinsey had 16 each, Rasim Basak scored 15 and Erden finished with 11. Deshon Farley scored 28 in defeat.
Besiktas Cola Turka, which wrapped up the top spot in the regular season last week, beat CASA TED Kolejliler of Ankara 91-95 in Ankara in overtime. After a close first half, Kolejliler took the control of the game in the third period, but Besiktas responded well through Brian Chase and Kaya Peker in the last quarter to bring the game to 77-77 on a layup by Peker with 11 seconds to go, forcing an extra period. Preston Shumpert, Predrag Drobnjak and Chase helped visitors to an 8-12 start to overtime to win the game. Drobnjak posted 22 points and 7 rebounds, Chase had 19 points, Shumpert scored 18, Sandro Nicevic 12 and Peker 11 for the winners. Turk Telekom struggled but beat relegation threatened TTNet Beykoz 88-99 in Beykoz and finished the regular season in fourth place. Chris Williams led the Ankara side with 26 points plus 12 rebounds, Khalid El Amin had 14 points and 5 assists and Erwin Dudley scored 13 and grabbed 11 boards for Telekom. Curtis Withers had 24 points for Beykoz.
LAST GAME GAME 30
April 26-27, 2008 | | Day | Match | Result | | Apr. 27 | CASA TED vs. Besiktas | 91-95 OT | | Apr. 27 | Pinar vs. Alpella | 92-69 | | Apr. 26 | Galatasaray vs. Efes P. | 92-76 | | Apr. 27 | TTNet vs. Turk Telekom | 88-99 | | Apr. 27 | Mersin BSB. vs. Antalya | 71-70 | | Apr. 26 | Kepez vs. Oyak Renault | 63-54 | | Apr. 27 | Darussafaka vs. Banvit | 85-93 OT | | Apr. 27 | FB Ulker vs. Mutlu Aku | 122-66 |
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NEXT GAME
Playoffs | | Day | Match | | - | | - | | - | | - | | - | | - | | - | | - |
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| STANDINGS | TG | W | L | P+ | P- | | 1 | Beşiktaş Cola Turka | 30 | 24 | 6 | 2496 | 2235 | | 2 | Efes Pilsen | 30 | 22 | 8 | 2471 | 2209 | | 3 | Fenerbahçe Ülker | 30 | 21 | 9 | 2447 | 2227 | | 4 | TÜRK Telekom | 30 | 20 | 10 | 2689 | 2435 | | 5 | Galatasaray Cafe Crown | 30 | 19 | 11 | 2319 | 2174 | | 6 | Antalya Bşb. | 30 | 18 | 12 | 2353 | 2327 | | 7 | Pinar Karşiyaka | 30 | 17 | 13 | 2608 | 2528 | | 8 | Banvit | 30 | 14 | 16 | 2440 | 2410 | | 9 | Casa TED A. Kolejliler | 30 | 13 | 17 | 2285 | 2404 | | 10 | Mersin Büyükşehir Bld. | 30 | 13 | 17 | 2297 | 2378 | | 11 | Kepez Belediye | 30 | 12 | 18 | 2297 | 2335 | | 12 | Oyak Renault | 30 | 12 | 18 | 2021 | 2164 | | 13 | Mutlu Akü Selçuk Üniv. | 30 | 10 | 20 | 2386 | 2673 | | 14 | Darüşşafaka | 30 | 9 | 21 | 2280 | 2461 | | 15 | Alpella | 30 | 8 | 22 | 2150 | 2391 | | 16 | TTNet Beykoz | 30 | 8 | 22 | 2271 | 2459 |
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Gökhan Türe, Istanbul
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