9 March 2010 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL
Galatasaray Café Crown defeated the reigning men’s Beko Turkish Basketball League (TBL) champion Efes Pilsen 89-76 in their game at İstanbul’s Abdi İpekçi Sports Hall, causing Efes Pilsen to lose the top spot in the league.
Both sides started offensively until the 5th minute while Galatasaray Café Crown upped the tempo through to the end of the first quarter, 26-18. Efes Pilsen got control of the game through the insufficient performance of the Galatasaray players in the second quarter and led the first half, 42-38. Galatasaray again raised their game in the second half with scores by Jasaitis, Büker, Wilkinson and Rancik and wrapped up the game 89-76. Efes Pilsen was eliminated from the Union of European Basketball Leagues (ULEB) Men’s League last week. In the other TBL match on Sunday Beşiktaş Cola Turka beat Aliağa Petkim 97-86. In the Women’s Turkish Basketball League (TBBL) it was Fenerbahçe 76, Galatasaray 62 and Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi 89, Samsun Basketbol 61.
