Turkish League Finals, Game 3: June 9, 2009
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 Efes Pilsen registered its first win in the best-of-seven Turkish League finals by edging Fenerbahce Ulker 91-98 in overtime at Abdi Ipecki in Istanbul on Tuesday - in one of the best games ever seen in the competition. Fener leads the series 1-2 and hosts Game 4 on Thursday. Preston Shumpert paced the winners with 28 points. Bootsy Thornton added 27, Mario Kasun had 11 while Kaya Peker got 10 for Efes. Mirsad Turkcan led FB Ulker with 22 points. Willie Solomon added 17, Semih Erden had 14 while Damir Mrsic got 11 for the hosts, that led 71-61 with under 4 minutes to go. Shumpert, Sinan Guler and Thornton fueled a 2-14 run that gave Efes a 73-75 edge. Erden picked up an airball and scored at the buzzer to force overtime, 75-75. Efes sealed the outcome midway through the extra period and used free throws by Thornton, Shumpert and Ender Arslan to seal the outcome.
A big basket by Devin Smith and a three-pointer by Emir Preldzic allowed Fener to regain a 18-15 edge after 10 minutes. FB Ulker managed to keep a safe lead for the best part of this half and improved its defense midway through the second quarter. Turkcan struck from downtown, igniting a 14-2 run in which Erden and Solomon combined for 9 points to give the hosts their first double-digit lead, 37-25. Smith nailed a buzzer-beating triple to get Efes within 37-28 at halftime. Shumpert scored after the break and soon added consecutive shots from downtown to give the guests some hope at 41-36. Three-pointers by Turkcan, Rasim Basak and Solomon, however, made Efes call timeout at 53-40 late in the third quarter. Mrsic and Turkcan soon broke the game open, 64-49, with 8 minutes to go. Thornton, Peker and Shumpert, however, fueled a 0-10 run that made it a five-point game, 64-59. Shumpert kept pacing Efes while three-pointers by Guler and Thornton completed the guests' comeback, 73-75. It all came down to the final play of regulation, in which Erden beat the buzzer with a put-back layup to force overtime, 75-75. Even when Fener got within 82-85, Efes sealed the outcome already in the final minute, 83-88, and used free throws by Thornton, Shumpert and Ender Arslan to seal the outcome.
| Final Playoffs, best of 7 games |
| Record |
Team |
Game 1 |
Game 2 |
Game 3 |
Game 4 |
Game 5 |
Game 6 |
Game 7 |
| 1 |
Efes Pilsen (1) |
60 |
67 |
98 |
June 11 |
June 14 |
*- |
*- |
| 2 |
Fenerbahce Ulker(3) |
68 |
70 |
91 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| Finals Playoffs round games |
| Game 1 |
Efes Pilsen vs. Fenerbahce Ulker |
60-68 |
June 4 |
| Game 2 |
Efes Pilsen vs. Fenerbahce Ulker |
67-70 |
June 6 |
| Game 3 |
Fenerbahce Ulker vs. Efes Pilsen |
91-98 OT |
June 9 |
| Game 4 |
Fenerbahce Ulker vs. Efes Pilsen |
- |
June 11 |
| Game 5 |
Efes Pilsen vs. Fenerbahce Ulker |
- |
June 14 |
| Game 6 |
Fenerbahce Ulker vs. Efes Pilsen |
- |
*- |
| Game 7 |
Efes Pilsen vs. Fenerbahce Ulker |
- |
*- |
|
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