The visiting Beşiktaş Cola Turka Men’s Basketball defeated Turk Telecom 80-76 at the Ankara Ataturk Sports Hall Arena for a 2-1 lead in quarter final playoff series.

After dropping Game 2 100-90 at home, the Black Eagles looked more determined in Game 3, and after a 19-11 first-quarter advantage, led 38-31 at halftime.  
Turk Telekom dragged itself back into the game in the third and erased the deficit after 5 minutes. The Black and White tried to respond but could find the shots it needed. The final minutes of the quarter saw the home team exert more pressure and build a 4-point cushion, 48-44.  But a couple of quick layups by Brad Newley tied the game at 48 with 3:16 remaining. Then, Cevher Özer stepped in and connected from outside to give Beşiktaş Cola Turka a 59-53 lead entering the fourth.    
After Ricky Davis and Cevher Özer traded three-pointers to start the final quarter, the host team came back to close the gap at the halfway point. While the Eagles struggled offensively, Davis nailed another trey from downtown to pull the Ankara City side ahead by one, 66-65, with 4:30 showing on the clock. From then on, both teams were neck-to-neck of each other. With 3:10 left in the game, Cevher Özer fouled out, and Beşiktaş Cola Turka’s offense looked in trouble; but hot-shooting Newley teamed up with veteran Haluk Yıldırım and Marque Perry in the dying seconds to lift the Black and White to an 80-76 win for a 2-1 series lead.
Game 3 is scheduled for Tuesday May 4 at 8:00 pm at the Ankara Ataturk Sports Hall. The Eagles can wrap up the best-of- five series with a win and advance to the semifinals.