Besiktas Integral Forex Istanbul advanced to the Last 32 by defeating Bisons Loimaa 83-74. Besiktas has now a 6-2 record and is one of the 24 will reach the next round, the Last 32. Bisons Loimaa, with a 3-5 record, shares fourth place with Neptunas Klaiped and Spartak St. Petersburg; all are still alive to advance. Mehmet Yagmur tallied 16 points and 6 assists for the winners, newcomer Sundiata Gaines bagged 15 with 6 rebounds and 5 assists, Chris Lofton scored 13 and Bradley Buckman collected 12 points and 11 rebounds. Frank Robinson contributed with 17 points for the Finnish champs, John Williamson added 16, Tuukka Kotti 12 and Billy Keys 11.

A Kotti jumper made it 6-8 for the visitors, but a 13-0 run highlighted by 6 points nailed by Colton Iverson gave a 19-8 margin to Besiktas, before Williamson’s put back made it 23-14 after 10 minutes. Antto Nikkarinen connected from downtown to cut the difference to 23-19 early in the second. Muractan Guler from the foul line made it 28-19, before Robinson completed a team play that began with a steal by Kotti to bring the comeback within 31-30. In a close finish, Robinson from long distance tied the game at 37-37, Ralph Sampson scored in the paint for a Bisons’ 37-39 lead, and after free throws from Lofton, Williamson evened the scoring at 41-41 at halftime. A three pointer and the following dunk completed the magic moment for Williamson, giving Bisons a 41-46 cushion. Gaines put again in front Besiktas 48-47 with free throws. Gaines extended the margin to 61-52 before Williamson scored again to make it 61-54 at the end of the third quarter. Buckman from the foul line raised again the advantage over the double-digit mark, 68-54, early in the final quarter. Then Williamson, Keys and Robinson tried to push the guests closer, 73-66, with four minutes left. Back-to-back triples by Tomislav Ruzic and Gaines, followed by a break finished with a layup by Yagmur established a huge 81-66 margin that the home team kept under control to seal their spot in the next round.