Kayseri Kaski eyes to win historic final
KURSK, Russia
The Kayseri team is bidding to become only the second women’s basketball team from Turkey to win a European title.
The only previous continental victory came from Galatasaray’s EuroCup win in 2009.
Kaskispor has the upper hand over its Russian rival after winning the first leg by 14 points at home court on March 15.
Last week, Kayseri outscored Kursk 22-15 in the last period and claimed a 69-55 first-leg triumph.
Kursk will have to win by 15 in front of its own fans in the return leg if it is going to prevail in the competition.
“In the first game, God was on our side,” Kaskispor Chairman Ender Batukan said to Anatolia News Agency last week. “I would be sad if we had not won because there were 10,000 spectators there.”
The margin of victory could have been greater for Kayseri, though, as the team went in front by 18 with 1:25 to go after Latoya Sanders made one of two at the free-throw line.
But Ausra Bimbaite sank two at the charity stripe and Ekaterina Lisina added a lay-up as Kursk closed the game on a 4-0 run to give themselves a fighting chance of overturning the deficit.
Sanders and Nicole Sanford have provided a mean one-two punch all season for Kayseri and it came up big against Kursk. Sanders had 19 points while Sanford had 15.
“We believe we will take the trophy to Kayseri,” Batukan said.