NEWS

28.12.2009

Fenerbahçe Ülker 100, Beşiktaş Cola Turka 92

In a Week 12 Istanbul derby, the visiting Beşiktaş Cola Turka Men’s Basketball suffered a 100-92 loss to Fenerbahçe Ülker at the Abdi İpekçi Sports Hall.

The teams appeared to be evenly matched in the early going and were locked in a 7-7 tie four minutes into the game. Then Kinsley connected on a pair of jumpers for the home side to give Fenerbahçe an 11-7 edge midway through the quarter. But thanks to a string of layups by the guard Muratcan Güler, the Black and White stormed back to take a 14-13 lead with 3:10 remaining. In the closing stages, the yellow and dark blue team tightened its defense, and despite a last second Fletcher three-pointer, rode the scoring of Kinsley and Ömer Erdoğan to end the first quarter with a one-point, 24-23, advantage    
The Eagles turned to a zone defense at the outset of the second but had a hard time containing the hot-shooting Preldzic. While Beşiktaş Cola Turka was searching for way to shore up its defensive woes, Gordon Gricek’s trey capped an early Fenerbahçe spurt which extended the margin to 8 at 38-30 after just three minutes. But the Black and White had no intention of giving up and rallied back to pull within 46-41 with less than 2:00 left. Just as the Black and White seemed to find its offensive groove, a series of late Beşiktaş Cola Turka turnovers led to an 11-point, 52-41, lead for Fenerbahçe Ülker at the break. While Kinsey poured in 12 points for the hosts in the first half, the Eagles committed an unusually high 10 turnovers.  
Although, the Eagles started the scoring in the third, the home team got 6 points from Semih Erden to reestablish its 11-point edge two minutes into the quarter. But Beşiktaş Cola Turka was determined to get back in, as Mire Chatman teamed with Engin Atsür to rattle off back-to-back three-pointers that put the Black and White back in front, 67-66, at the 27:12 mark. The dying minutes saw both teams match each other basket-for-basket with Beşiktaş Cola Turka holding a slim 74-73 lead, after three quarters of play, setting the stage for a showdown in the final stanza.
The host Fenerbahçe Ülker opened the fourth with 3 consecutive three-pointers by Mrsiç before Beşiktaş Cola Turka ever had a chance to settle down. Then Preldzic added another from the left wing for an 8-point cushion at 87-79 with 6:15 to go in regulation. The Eagles tried to mount a comeback down the stretch, but with two minutes remaining on the clock, Semih Erden converted a clutch layup to take the lead back up to 11 points at 94-83 and put the game away for good. When the final buzzer sounded, Fenerbahçe Ülker had defeated Beşiktaş Cola Turka, 100-92.     
Engin Atsür scored a game-high 20 points for the Beşiktaş Cola Turka.

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