Beşiktaş Cola Turka Men’s Basketball went down to French Gravelines, 98-72, in the final of the tournament.

Our team challenged against French team Gravelines today in Schweppes European Trophy Tournament that was organized in Belgium.
The Black and White started the game with a line up consisting of Mire Chatman, Brad Newley, Kerem Özkan, Cevher Özer and Lonny Baxter. The teams exchanged baskets in the early going and were knotted in a 6-6 tie after two minutes. A layup by Baxter at 4:00 mark, put the Black and White up 12-10, but, as the game progressed, the French team began to connect from outside the arch and remained ahead for most of the quarter.  Despite a late run capped by a three-pointer from Haluk Yıldırım, Gravelines clung to a 24-23 edge at the end of the first quarter.
Sloppy play and turnovers dominated Beşiktaş Cola Turka’s offensive game in the second frame, as they trailed 39-32 midway through the quarter. However, thanks to Haluk Yıldırım’s hot hand, they managed to stay within strike and were down only 47-44 at the intermission.
Spurred by Cevher Özer’s inside scoring, the Eagles found their shots early in the third and pulled ahead 53-52 with 7:15 to go. However, from that minute onwards, due to an unexpected drought, the Black and White started hitting nothing but the iron and fell behind by seventeen points, 75-58, going into fourth.
Beşiktaş Cola Turka’s sluggish play continued in the final frame as the gap grew to twenty at 82-62 with 7:10 to play. After Brad Newley picked up his fifth foul and left the game at the halfway point, the Black and White lost complete control in the remaining minutes of the final, en route to a 98-72 loss.