Beşiktaş Cola Turka Men’s Basketball rolls past Kepez Belediyesi 81-68 in the opener of Rixos Cup Tournament organized in Antalya.

Both teams got off to a sluggish start, and Kepez Belediyesi led 5-3 four minutes into the game. Kepez tried to stretch the margin on a layup by Alex Gordon, but Kevin Fletcher responded with a short jumper and kept the Black and White close. Nevertheless, Cüneyt Erden and Ersin Görkem combined to give the representatives from Antalya City an 11-6 advantage with less than 4.00 remaining on the clock. However, led by new signing Brad Newly and Arın Soğancıoğlu, Beşiktaş Cola Turka put together a late rally to pull ahead, 19-15, going into the second quarter.
After Kepez’s new transfer Fatih Solak and Brad Newley exchanged baskets to start the second frame, the game turned into a seesaw affair with the Black and White up, 23-21, at the 13:00 mark. From this moment onwards, Kepez began to commit a series of turnovers that allowed Beşiktaş Cola Turka’s lead to swell to 29-21 entering final three minutes and forcing a home team timeout The timeout helped as they went on a 10-0 run to jump back in front, 31-29, with a string of unanswered points. But, thanks to a layup and a 3-pointer by Chatman, the Eagles held a 34-31 edge, going into the locker room at the break.
In the early going of the second half, both teams traded buckets; and Kepez Belediyesi managed to tie the score at 38 on Alex Gordon’s consecutive jumpers. Nevertheless, Beşiktaş Cola Turka was ahead, 47-45, midway through the third quarter. Kepez Belediyesi attempted to reclaim the lead by tightening its defense but still trailed 54-52 after three quarters of hard-fought, bare-knuckle basketball.
It was a completely different story in the fourth; as the Black and white began to pull away on consecutive 3-pointers from Kevin Fletcher and Haluk Yıldırım. Kepez responded with Cüneyt Erden, but were down, 72-61, with just over 4:00 left to play. In the closing minutes, Beşiktaş Cola Turka took advantage of its opponent’s turnovers and dominated the boards on both ends of the court to walk away with an impressive 81-68 victory.