Turkish League Semifinals, Game 2: May 27-28, 2009
|
 Three-time defending Turkish League champion Fenerbahce Ulker and archrival Efes Pilsen are on a collision course for the finals again after both teams moved to 2-0 in the best-of-five semis with victories on Thursday. Fenerbahce had the tougher task, but held on for a 79-85 road win against host Turk Telekom in Ankara. Mirsad Turkcan scored twice in a row after a late 75-75 tie to help Fenerbahce pull away to the victory. He and Will Solomon led the winners with 17 points each while Serkan Erdogan had 20 for Turk Telekom. Efes Pilsen did not have much trouble in downing Galatasaray Cafe Crown 103-77 in Game 2 of the best-of-five semifinals on Wednesday. Efes had started the series with a 1-0 lead due to its regular season wins against Galatasaray. Charles Smith paced the winners with 28 points on 4-for-6 three-pointers and 7 rebounds. Efes and Fenerbahce can advance to the finals with Game 3 victories on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Like the defending champs they are, Fenerbahce jumped ahead early on the road in Ankara, burning up the nets with contributions from the whole starting lineup in a 21-31 first quarter. Fenerbahce kept up the pressure with Oguz Savas joining Turkcan inside and Emir Preldzic teamed with Solomon outside to build a high lead of 31-46 in the second quarter. Omer Asik kept the difference high, 36-50, shortly after halftime, but soon Turk Telekom was rallying behind Erdogan and Kenan Bajramovic's sharp shooting. Tutku Asik would put the hosts ahead 58-57 late in the third quarter, which ended with a basket by Savas at 60-61. Back and forth they wen tfrom there, although the best Turk Telekom could do was tie, for the last time at 75-75, when Turkcan took over to establish the cushion that the guests needed to come out on top. In addition to Solomon and Turkcan, Fenerbahce got double-digit scoring from Savas, Asic and Devin Smith, with 10 pionts each. Asic added 9 rebounds, Solomon 5 assists. Kris Lang had 13 points, Erwin Dudley 12 for Turk Telekom.
Efes found itself in a tight game early at homle, as Galatasaray trailed by only 27-25 after 10 minutes. Bootsy Thornton and Ender Arslan stepped up to make it a double-digit game, 38-28, early in the second quarter. Five consecutive points by Anthony Tolliver brought Galatasaray within 49-44 but Thornton and Smith made sure that Efes restored a double-digit lead, 58-48, at halftime. Then, late in the third quarter, Smith led a 13-0 run that broke the game open, 76-59. Galatasaray did not recover, allowing Efes to get closer to the Turkish League finals. In addition to Smith's fireworks, Mario Kasun added 12 points for the winners while Kerem Tunceri, Thornton and Kaya Peker each had 11. Tolliver and Quinton Hosley each had 17 points for Galatasaray. Huseyin Besok added 13 while Cunyet Erden got 11.
| Semifinals Playoffs, best of 5 games |
| Record |
Team |
Game 1 |
Game 2 |
Game 3 |
Game 4 |
Game 5 |
| 2 |
Efes Pilsen (1) |
W* |
103 |
May 30 |
*- |
*- |
| 0 |
Galatasaray Cafe Crown (4) |
L* |
77 |
- |
- |
- |
| 0 |
Turk Telekom (2) |
81 |
79 |
May 31 |
*- |
*- |
| 2 |
Fenerbahce Ulker (3) |
86 |
85 |
- |
- |
- |
*In Turkey, if one team won both regular season games between them,
their playoff series begins 1-0 in that team's favor.
| Semifinals Playoffs round games |
| Game 1 |
Turk Telekom vs. Fenerbahce Ulker |
81-86 |
May 26 |
| Game 2 |
Efes Pilsen vs. Galatasaray Cafe Crown |
103-77 |
May 27 |
| Game 2 |
Turk Telekom vs. Fenerbahce Ulker |
79-85 |
May 28 |
| Game 3 |
Galatasaray Cafe Crown vs. Efes Pilsen |
- |
May 30 |
| Game 3 |
Fenerbahce Ulker vs. Turk Telekom |
- |
May 31 |
| Game 4 |
Galatasaray Cafe Crown vs. Efes Pilsen |
- |
*- |
| Game 4 |
Fenerbahce Ulker vs. Turk Telekom |
- |
*- |
| Game 5 |
Efes Pilsen vs. Galatasaray Cafe Crown |
- |
*- |
| Game 5 |
Turk Telekom vs. Fenerbahce Ulker |
- |
*- |
|
|
Euroleague.net
|
 Print Send Share
|