Will TBBL leader Fener be stopped en route to fifth championship in a row?

 Last year Galatasaray won the Eurocup trophy, the second-biggest European trophy in women’s basketball. The victory, in turn, led to two Turkish teams taking part in the number one European women’s basketball event, the EuroLeague Women. Furthermore, Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) players come to Europe during the winter because the US league is on vacation, and no doubt Turkey gets its share from all this.

Taking all these pleasant developments into consideration, all eyes have turned to the Women’s Turkish Basketball League (TBBL), which has worked on improving its quality in recent years.

The first half of the season finished last weekend with Fenerbahçe, the champion of the past four seasons, on top. This team was followed by Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi and Galatasaray in second and third place, respectively. In addition to finishing the first half in the top spot, Fenerbahçe is on a roll because it has won all its games, a feat that may be a bit discouraging to the other teams in the championship.

Fenerbahçe’s pre-season plans for the league tick like a clock. “We included talented players like Penny Taylor from WNBA champion Phoenix Mercury without disturbing the foundation of our team, which comprises Turkish players such as Nevriye Yılmaz, Birsel Vardarlı, Esmeralda Tunçluer and Nevin Newlin. We aim for the top in both Turkey and Europe,” Fenerbahçe women’s basketball team manager Didem Akın told Sunday’s Zaman.

Much to Galatasaray’s surprise, last year’s Eurocup winner finished in third place after suffering defeats against leader Fenerbahçe, Mersin and Samsun Basketbol. “The defeats disrupted our TBBL goals,” Galatasaray women’s basketball team manager Müge Erdem told Sunday’s Zaman.

These interruptions in the first half have not changed Galatasaray’s plans for the league, though. The team signed WNBA superstar Tamika Catchings from the Indiana Fever; the transfer dropped like a bombshell, shaking women’s basketball in Turkey and proving how serious Galatasaray, the team with the largest number of championships in the TBBL, is about success and about cutting short Fenerbahçe’s hopes of a championship victory.

“We won the championship many times -- nine years in a row. I was a player on the team back then. Over time we became weaker, and Fenerbahçe put together a good team. They have been playing with almost the same squad for years, which is an advantage for them. Our luck began to change for the better over the past three to four years, and we want this trend to continue,” Erdem said.

In addition to Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, archrivals in whatever field they face each other, Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi, last year’s TBBL finalist, is one of the most powerful teams in the league. Mersin proved its strength this season, too, showing that last year’s achievement was not just due to luck.

The third most familiar name of the league, Beşiktaş, however, is nowhere near making its fans happy.

Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray in EuroLeague’s top 16

Galatasaray, as the media frequently highlight, is the team that brought the first European trophy in an outstanding championship to Turkey. The İstanbul team earned a berth for the most prestigious women’s basketball league in Europe, the EuroLeague Women, along with Turkish champion Fenerbahçe.

The qualifying round wrapped up last week and the top 16 teams will continue the EuroLeague adventure, including both of these TBBL teams. The pairings were announced by FIBA Europe on Thursday. While Fenerbahçe will play with Cras Basket Taranto of Italy, which Galatasaray defeated in the Eurocup final, second-placed Galatasaray will face one of Europe’s leading teams, Russian powerhouse UMMC Ekaterinburg.

Fenerbahçe’s Italian rival ranked ninth in the EuroLeague Women 2010 qualifying round. But this does not seem to scare the undefeated TBBL leader. “We ranked second in the hardest EuroLeague group and qualified for the top 16. We will now do our best and try to earn a berth in the quarterfinals,” Fenerbahçe manager Akın said.

Winning nine out of 10 games in the qualifying round, Galatasaray’s Russian rival is considered one of the teams most likely to win the EuroLeague title. Acknowledging its rival’s power, Galatasaray manager Erdem highlighted that the league is challenging and that experienced teams are more likely to succeed. “We want to play in the semis but we aimed to at least make it to the top 16 -- and we achieved this. Now we have Tamika [Catchings] on the team. I hope we will beat Ekaterinburg,” she said.

TBBL All-Star 2010 extravaganza today

The Panküp Women’s All-Star 2010 basketball match will take place at the Ankara Atatürk Sports Hall today. The game will feature two teams: one comprising Turkish players in the TBBL and the other foreign players in the league. A three-point shootout and a slam-dunk competition will also take place in the all-star schedule. The Turkish squad will be coached by Panküp Kayseri Şeker’s Ayhan Avcı while the foreign players’ squad will be coached by Fenerbahçe’s Haydar Kemal Ateş. The game and the competitions will be broadcast live on TRT 3.