Beşiktaş off to last eight despite defeat

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Beşiktaş advanced to the Eurochallenge quarterfinal despite a defeat to Fuenlabrada. AA photo

Beşiktaş Milangaz advanced to the quarter-final stage of the Eurochallenge Cup, becoming the only Turkish team remaining in the lower-tier competitions of European basketball.

The Istanbul-based team lost to Spain’s Fuenlabrada 77-78 on Feb. 28, and remained in the second spot of the Group K in the third-tier competition. Novgorod beat Pardubice 86-65 in the group’s other game, meaning both teams finished in third and fourth spot respectively, and were thus eliminated.

Another Turkish team in the competition, Pınar Karşıyaka, lost to German team Dragons 95-88 and slipped to third spot in their group, to also be knocked out of the competition. Karşıyaka finished with two wins in six games, while Triumph jumped to second with three wins, after beating Antwerp on the same night.
Competing in the second-tier Eurocup, Banvit beat Spartak 68-61, but remained in the third spot of its group behind Spartak and Buducnost.

In women’s Eurocup, two Turkish teams will meet in the second leg of the semifinal tonight, as Botaş try to overturn a 12-point deficit against Kayseri Kaskispor.

The Adana team hosts Kaskispor after losing the first leg match 77-65 last week, despite getting 19 points and 22 rebounds from Courtney Paris.

The 25-year-old power forward Latoya Sanders was dominant at both ends of the floor, with 20 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks. 35-year-old center Sanford finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds. The final will be a Turkish-Russian affair, since the winner of the Botaş vs. Kaskispor tie will meet the winner of the Chevakata vs. Dynamo Kursk tie.