2002-03Regular SeasonRound 5
November 07, 2002 CET: 00:00
Local time: 00:00 ABDI IPEKCI SPORTS HALL

Ulker has made what could prove to be a big move in Group C by taking off in the second half for a resounding 105-78 victory in Istanbul on Thursday over visiting Virtus Bologna. The outcome not only lifted Ulker's record to 3-2, but pulled Virtus down to the same and halted the three-game winning streak of the Italian visitors. The same new trio that has driven Ulker all season did the job on Thursday as Melvin Booker and Joseph Blair scored 24 points each and Virginius Praskevicius 21 for the winners, while Serkan Erdogan and Harun Erdenay popped 11 each. Blair doubled up with another dominant show of 15 rebounds under the rims, where Ulker dominated 35-25 overall, with Praskevicius getting 8 more and Booker 5. For Virtus, which trailed by just 1 point at the half, Alessandro Frosini led the scoring with 21 points, Charlie Bell had 20 and Derrick Dial 12.

After Efes stole a win at Skipper on Wednesday, this was the second matchup of the week between a Turkish team and one from Bologna. This one, too, started with speedy basketball, as both teams preferred a fast pace that put the players on the run. Erdenay, Ulker's captain, hit the first basket after 15 seconds, a three-pointer that put him over 7,000 points for his career. Ulker thrived on fastbreaks enough to rattle off a nine-point lead, 21-12, on a Haluk Yildirim layup after 6 minutes. Virtus Bologna struggled to get centers Dejan Koturovic and Frosini started inside, but Bell did a great job with his long-range shots. His consecutive three-pointers were enough to complete a 2-12 run that actually put Virtus in the lead at 23-24, before a pair of free throws from Blair allowed Ulker to at least finish the quarter ahead, 25-24.

It was a much tougher defensive game in the second quarter. Virtus buckled down better than Ulker and took the control of the match once again after 14 minutes on a three-parter from Antoine Rigadeau that put the scoreboard at 33-35. Center David Andersen, just back from injury, was the man stopping Ulker from scoring inside and also helped Virtus on offense, with an inside shot to make it 35-39. Erdenay came on the floor and stopped Ulker's scoreless streak with a three-pointer, and by the end of the quarter, Blair was driving to the hoop for a layup that returned the lead to the Istanbul side, 46-45. Blair and Booker each had 10 points already, but Bell was the main offensive force with 16 for Virtus.

It was an attractive and spectacular third period in Istanbul as both teams exercised patience and cool to try to take charge of the game. An alley-oop thrown down by Blair was answered by a Derrick Dial three-pointer in the 24th minute. Virtus guards Bell and Dial were making everything they could while Blair and Erdenay were standing against them. With another inside drive by Blair, Ulker had a six-point lead, 66-60, after 28 minutes, to which Booker added a fastbreak layup after a Virtus turnover. Booker also ended the quarter with three pointer that gave the home side a 73-64 advantage going into the final period.

Those final 10 minutes were all Ulker. Blair started it off with another basket for 75-64 that would develop into a 10-2 run that blew the game open. Virtus struggled to match the mood and to get to the basket, and the result was a long decline. Meanwhile, someone who had been relatively silent until then, Praskevicius, hit a three-pointer to signal his willingness to carry the late scoring load. That made it 83-66, and Ulker at least would score a lot more in the final 8 minutes. Back-to-back threes from Praskevicius and Booker set the crowd to celebrating the high moment, a 29-point advantage with 2 minutes left, and a sure move up in Group C.

Thursday, November 7, 2002
Gokhan Ture, Istanbul
No results found.
Referees: BETANCOR, MIGUELO; CHAVES, RAUL; BITTON, MOSHE
Attendance: 4000
By Quarter1234
Ulker25212732
Virtus Bologna24211914
End of Quarter1234
Ulker254673105
Virtus Bologna24456478
Ulker
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 ERDOGAN, SERKAN 24:00 11 2/5 1/2 4/5 1   1 2 1     1 3 5 11
5 BOOKER, MELVIN 34:00 24 8/12 1/1 5/7   5 5 7 1     1 2 6 34
6 ABI, MUSTAFA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7 PACHULIA, ZAZA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8 GOLJOVIC, MILJAN 4:00     0/1   1   1 1   1     1   -1
9 ERDENAY, HAKKI HARUN 19:00 11 1/2 3/7   1 1 2 3   1     3   7
10 BLAIR, JOSEPH 40:00 24 11/18   2/2 5 10 15 2 1 3 1 1 1 2 33
11 ACIK, TUTKU 19:00 7 1/1 1/2 2/4   2 2           2 3 7
12 GONLUM, KEREM 4:00 2 1/2     1 1 2     1     3   -1
13 SOLAK, FATIH DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
14 YILDIRIM, HALUK 20:00 5 1/1 1/3     1 1 1 1 1     2 2 5
15 PRASKEVICIUS, VIRGINIJUS 36:00 21 4/7 4/5 1/2 4 4 8 2 2 1     2 3 28
Team                                
Totals 200:00 105 29/48 11/21 14/20 13 24 37 18 6 8 1 3 19 21 123
        60.4% 52.4% 70%
Head coach: ONGOREN, MEVLUT
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Virtus Bologna
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
6 AVLEEV, RUSLAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7 DIAL, DERRICK 31:00 12 2/7 2/5 2/5 3 5 8 3 1 1   1 2 4 13
8 ATTRUIA, STEFANO 6:00 4 1/2   2/2           1     2 1 1
10 SEKULARAC, MLADEN 24:00 6 3/5 0/2   1 3 4 1         2 1 6
11 BELL, CHARLIE 26:00 20 5/9 3/5 1/4   2 2 2 1 3     3 3 13
12 FROSINI, ALESSANDRO 36:00 21 10/15   1/2 2 1 3 3   1 1   2 4 23
13 ANDERSEN, DAVID 22:00 4 2/6     3 3 6     2 1   1 3 7
14 RIGAUDEAU, ANTOINE 17:00 3   1/1           1 2     1 2 3
16 SCARONE, GERMAN 16:00 4 1/1 0/5 2/2       1         4 1 -3
17 BRKIC, DAVID DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
19 MIRALLES, ALBERT DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
20 KOTUROVIC, DEJAN 22:00 4 2/2       4 4   1 2 1   4   4
Team                                
Totals 200:00 78 26/47 6/18 8/15 9 18 27 10 4 12 3 1 21 19 67
        55.3% 33.3% 53.3%
Head coach: TANJEVIC, BOGDAN
This game has no play by play yet

Head Coaches

ONGOREN, MEVLUT
Ulker
"In Group C, we are fighting to get first or second place. Unfortunately, we lost to CSKA Moscow and Real Madrid with simple mistakes. I think we played our best game of the season against Virtus Bologna tonight. Our good defensive game helped us to build up a good offensive organization. And for the first time we were leading the rebounds well enough. Melvin Booker showed that he is a great talent as point guard. All my players did well. We will go on to fight until we clinch the first or second place in the group."
TANJEVIC, BOGDAN
Virtus Bologna
"It was a very hard game against a very strong and though opponent. In the first three periods, we were able to handle that pressure. But in the last quarter we lost control of the game and gave the rhythm of the momentum to Ulker. All the players in Ulker played with their higher percentages. Sometimes it happens like this and you can never stop your rival, especially the critical three-pointers of Harun Erdenay and Virginijus Praskevicius and the skillfull play of Joseph Blair inside, became unstoppable with the help of Melvin Booker. We should be much tougher in the remaining games for success."

Players

ERDENAY, HAKKI HARUN
Ulker
"If we lost this game we could go down of the group. We started the game with the knowledge of that thing. Finally we had a great game and beat Virtus. This is a very important win for us. Now we have a game against Idea Slask in Poland and against Partizan of Yugoslavia. We want to win both games and then have our revenge against CSKA in Moscow. I'm also proud of my surpassing the 7,000-point mark in my career."
RIGAUDEAU, ANTOINE
Virtus Bologna
"The game was head to head in the first three periods. But for some reason, we lost the mood of the game in the last quarter. If you get more than 100 points in a game it's very hard to win. Unfortunately we couldn't be competitive like other times in this game."
No results found.