Beşiktaş Cola Turka Basketball Team bows out of the Teknosa Turkish Cup after an 83-66 quarterfinal loss to Efes Pilsen.

After Cenk Akyol punished Kzell Wesson’s turnover with a three-pointer to start the game, Efes Pilsen used Mario Kasun to dominate the paint and boards. The Black and White got layups from Jimmy Baxter and Chatman to remain close; but three minutes into the quarter, Bootsy Thornton nailed a jumper assisted by Kasun to make it 10-5 for the crosstown rival. Playing effective zone defense, the formidable blue and white team, then, began to out-hustle the Black and White on the offensive glass for some easy put-backs. Following Ender Arslan’s three-pointer, Mario Kasun and Kerem Gönlüm converted back-to-back layups to push Efes Pilsen’s lead to 10 points at 17-7 with 3:10 left in the opening frame. Although, Mire Chatman interrupted Efes’s run with a running layup, and Cevher Özer sank an 8-foot fadeaway jumper from the baseline to narrow the gap, Thornton scored five consecutives and put Efes up, 22-11, entering the final minute. In the dying seconds, Preston Shumpert hit a 19-foot jumper from the left wing to give the blue and white a 24- 15 lead heading into second quarter.

At the onset of the second stanza, while Beşiktaş Cola Turka made its presence felt in the painted area with Wesson, Efes Pilsen applied fierce pressure in the front court to put the game out of reach. Kaya Peker and Preston Shumpert started a string of unanswered points that kept Efes Pilsen safely ahead. Then Charles Smith’s slam dunk boosted the blue and white team’s advantage to 13 points, 34-21, with 6:12 to play and forced an early Beşiktaş timeout. After the break, Muratcan Güler drilled the Black and White’s first three-pointer of the game; but Kakiouzis answered right back with a trey of his own to preserve the margin. While the Black and White struggled to find a way around Efes’s tenacious defense, Kakiozis continued to pour it in behind the arch to help the blue and white take a 40-29 lead into halftime.

Thanks to Thornton’s penetrations, Efes Pilsen carried its momentum into the third; and Cenk Akyol followed Kasun’s dunk with a free-throw to make it 43- 29. But Cevher Özer and Wesson combined for seven straight points to pull Beşiktaş Cola Turka within 43-36 with 4.17 to go. However, as the quarter progresses, Efes Pilsen tightened up on defense and reestablished the 13-point edge at 54-41 on Kaya Peker’s free-throws with 2:05 remaining in the third frame. Despite Jimmy Baxter’s late layups, Efes Pilsen held a 58-47 cushion after three quarters.

After Adem Ören hit a jumper to start the final frame, the hot-shooting Kakiouzis teamed up with Shumpert and Charles Smith to stretch the lead to 65-49 four minutes into game. Unable to get a clean shot off, the Black and White struggled to find an offensive rhythm and lost its grip on the game. Meanwhile, Kakiouzis knocked down another three and made it a 19-point game at 68-49 midway through the quarter. Then, Cevher Özer, hoping to spark a Beşiktaş comeback, drove to the hoop for a layup; but Efes Pilsen refused to get caught; as Preston Shumpert’s alley-oop triggered another Efes rally en route to an 83-66 win to earn semifinal berth.