Beşiktaş Cola Turka Men’s Basketball Team visited Casa TED Ankara Kolejliler at Ankara TOBB Sports Hall in Week 30 and squeezed out a 95-91 victory to finish the regular season atop the table.
Casa TED Ankara Kolejliler got off to a fast start and built a 17-8 lead midway through the quarter on back-to-back baskets. The Black and White tried to stay in the game with buckets by Nicevic and Shumpert but trailed 25-18 at the end of the opening quarter.Thanks to Chase’s productive outing, Beşiktaş Cola Turka bounced back in the second and pulled ahead 28-27 entering the final 3 minutes on Kaya Peker’s free-throws. The Black and White managed to fend off a Casa TED rally in the closing stages and carried a 43-41 edge into the locker room at the break.
Kaya Peker and Drobjnak combined to score the first 6 points of the third and stretched the margin to 47-41 two minutes into quarter. But the host team fought back to tie it up at 54-54 with 5:00 showing on the clock. Casa TED Ankara Kolejliler continued to press hard in the remaining minutes and led 66-63 after three quarters of play.
Both teams were evenly matched in the fourth, as the score remained close throughout the entire quarter. Chase teamed up with Shumpert to push our Black and White ahead, 76-73 at the half-way mark. But the host teamed reclaimed the lead on a string of baskets by Thomas Dearman, Özgür Adıgüzel and Ömer Üner. Nevertheless, Drobnjak came back with a three to show that Beşiktaş Cola Turka wasn’t going anywhere and knotted the score at 81-81 with 2:00 left to play. Then the teams matched each other basket-for-basket in the remaining minutes with neither side gaining the upper hand. Teams settled for 83-83 tie at the end of regulation time, as the game went into overtime.
Chase and Drobjanak turned on the heat on Casa TED with driving lay-ups to make sure that Beşiktaş Cola Turka remained in front most of the overtime. Then Kaya Peker hit a clutch jumper to give the Black and White a 92-88 lead entering the final minute. Casa TED’s late comeback fell short, as the Black and White walked away with a 95-91 victory.
At the end of a 30-week marathon, Beşiktaş Cola Turka finished its regular games in the Beko Basketball League atop the standings with 54 points. It aims to repeat this success in the playoffs and capture the championship title at the end of the season.
