Turkish League, Regular Season, Game 8: November 29-30, 2008 - TURKEY

July 04, 2009

Turkish League, Regular Season, Game 8: November 29-30, 2008

Gordan Giricek - Fenerbahce Ulker (fenerbahce.org)

Fenerbahçe Ulker ended Turk Telekom's unbeaten run in the Turkish League by beating the squad from Ankara 75-73 in a thriller at Istanbul's Abdi Ipekci Arena. Telekom came into the game with a perfect 7-0 record, but was unable to extend its streak against the defending champs, despite coming back from an early 14-point deficit to lead the with two minutes to go. Telekom now shares the top spot with Efes Pilsen and Galatasaray Cafe Crown at 7-1, while Fener and Banvit are tied for fourth at 6-2. In Istanbul, Gordan Giricek hit a big three with 23 seconds remaining to make it 74-71 and Fener held on for the win. Oguz Savas led his team with 17 points and Devin Smith had 13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals for the winners. Efes Pilsen defeated Aliaga Petkim 92-78 in Ayhan Sahenk Arena to tie Turk Telekom atop the standings. Charles Smith scored 31 as Efes won its seventh straight game. Galatasaray Cafe Crown beat CASA TED Kolejliler 66-75 on the road to leave the Ankara team winless through eight games. Milan Gurovic scored 18 and Dejan Milojevic recorded 14 points and 14 rebounds to lead Galatasaray. Besiktas ColaTurka snapped a six-game losing streak by trashing rival Darussafaka Cooper Tires 80-47 at Akatlar Cola Turka Arena. Adem Oren finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners. Three other games needed extra time to be decided. Banvit bested Mersin Buyuksehir Bld. 96-100, Mutlu Aku Selcuk University topped Kepez Belediye 66-68 and Antalya outlasted Oyak Renault 84-85. Meanwhile, Pinar Karşiyaka defeated Erdemirspor 96-84.

Fenerbahçe Ulker ended Turk Telekom's unbeaten run in the Turkish League by beating the squad from Ankara 75-73 in a thriller at Istanbul’s Abdi Ipekci Arena. Telekom came into the game with a perfect 7-0 record, but was unable to extend its streak against the defending champs, despite coming back from an early 14-point deficit to lead the game by 7 in the third period. Fenerbahce got off to an impressive start, especially on defense as Gasper Vidmar and Mirsad Turkcan ruled the game inside. A Serkan Erdogan three-pointer made the score 16-11 after four minutes, but then Fener went on a 9-0 run to finish the first quarter ahead 25-11. Telekom used Michael Wright to respond in the paint and he did a good job on the home team’s big men to bring Telekom back. But Fener kept the difference at 10 or more for most of the period. An Ogus Savas layup midway through the quarter made it 42-28, but Erwin Dudley, Tutku Acik and Wright teamed up to lead the visitors on a 2-11 run that cut the gap to 44-39 at halftime. Bekir Yarangume fired up his team at the beginning of the second half with a triple as Telekom remained on fire. Yarangume and Wright worked well in offense as Telekom took a 44-46 lead. Kennedy Winston and Erdogan increased the lead to 56-63 late in the period. Devin Smith refreshed the hosts’ hopes with a triple at the beginning of the last period, which elevated the excitement on the court. Savas scored critical inside points before Smith hit another jumper to give Fener a 72-71 advantage with 104 seconds to play. Fener stood tall on defense allowing Gordan Giricek to make it 74-71 with 23 seconds remaining. Yarangume went to the line with a chance to toe it with 3 seconds to play, but made only 2 of 3. Marques Green made 1 free throws a second later and Yarangume's last second try hit the rim as Fener sealed celebrated the win. Savas led his team with 17 points, Smith had 13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals and Turkcan added 11 points for the winners. Wright scored 20 and Erdogan had 11 in defeat.

Efes Pilsen defeated Aliaga Petkim 92-78 in Ayhan Sahenk Arena to tie Turk Telekom atop the standings. Efes took a 26-18 lead by the end of the first quarter and then defended it well for the reminder of the match to win its seventh straight game. Charles Smith scored 31 points, Milos Vujanic added 13 points plus 6 assists, Kerem Gonlum posted a double-double with 12 points plus 11 rebounds and Michalis Kakuouzis netted 11 for the winners. Aubrey Reese led Aliaga with 23 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists and Fatih Solak had 15 points and 16 rebounds in defeat.

Besiktas ColaTurka snapped a six-game losing streak by trashing rival Darussafaka Cooper Tires 80-47 at Akatlar Cola Turka Arena. After leading 15-11 at the end of the first period, Besiktas went on a 25-9 charged behind Cevher Ozer, Jimmy Baxter and Adem Oren to go up 40-20 by halftime. It was more of the same in the third quarter as Dacka seemed to give up and Oren and Dennis Mims extended the Besiktas lead to 56-30. The advantage peaked at 44 points as Besiktas coasted to victory. Oren finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists for the home team. Baxter also scored 20, while Ozer added 15 points plus 8 boards and Mims posted 10 points and 10 rebounds for Besiktas. Bora Hun Pacun had 13 points and Cliff Hammonds added 10 for Darussafaka.

Galatasaray Cafe Crown beat CASA TED Kolejliler 66-75 on the road to leave the Ankara team winless through eight games. Milan Gurovic scored 18 and Dejan Milojevic recorded 14 points and 14 rebounds to lead Galatasaray. Huseyin Besok added 15 points and Antonio Graves had 10 for the winners. Tovarice Prowell led CASA with 14.

LAST GAME GAME 8 November 28-30, 2008
Day	Match	Result
Nov. 29	Efes Pilsen vs. Petkim	92-78
Nov. 29	Besiktas vs. Darussafaka	80-47
Nov. 30	Fenerbahce Ulker vs.Turk	75-73
Nov. 29	CASA TED vs.Galatasaray	66-75
Nov. 29	Kepez Bld. vs. Mutlu Aku	66-68 OT
Nov. 28	Pinar vs. Erdemirspor	96-84
Nov. 28	Oyak Renault vs. Antalya	84-85OT
Nov. 29	Mersin BSB. vs. Banvit	96-100 OT

NEXT GAME GAME 9 December 5-7, 2008
Day	Match
Dec. 6	Galatasaray CC vs. Kepez
Dec. 6	Darussafaka vs. Fenerbahce
Dec. 5	Turk Telekom vs. Aliaga
Dec. 6	Antalya vs. Besiktas CT
Dec. 6	Pinar vs. Efes Pilsen
Dec. 5	Mutlu Aku vs. Mersin BSB.
Dec. 6	Erdemirspor vs. CASA TED
Dec. 7	Banvit vs. Oyak Renault

	STANDINGS	TG	W	L	P+	P-
1	Efes Pilsen	8	7	1	675	574
2	Galatasaray Cafe Crown	8	7	1	629	547
3	TÜRK Telekom	8	7	1	630	568
4	Fenerbahçe Ülker	8	6	2	602	516
5	Banvit	8	6	2	712	667
6	Antalya Bşb.	8	5	3	666	663
7	Pinar Karşiyaka	8	4	4	637	645
8	Mersin Büyükşehir Bld.	8	4	4	690	679
9	Darüşşafaka Cooper Tires	8	4	4	559	572
10	Aliağa Petkim	8	4	4	618	624
11	Mutlu Akü Selçuk Üniv.	8	4	4	631	641
12	Oyak Renault	8	3	5	579	625
13	Beşiktaş Cola Turka	8	2	6	596	599
14	Erdemir	8	1	7	518	583
15	Casa TED A. Kolejliler	8	0	8	533	647
16	Kepez Belediye	8	0	8	549	674