Beşiktaş eyes maiden win in Euroleague

ISTANBUL

Coach Erman Kunter is still seeking his first Euroleague win at Beşiktaş. A Photo

Two teams in desperate need of a win will clash in Istanbul tonight when Beşiktaş hosts Caja Laboral Vitoria.

Beşiktaş is winless in the Top 16, but will be sure to give maximum effort in the hopes of rewarding its loyal fans with an impressive result in its debut Turkish Airlines Euroleague campaign. Vitoria has dropped five in a row, but since it started the Top 16 hot, Coach Zan Tabak’s team sports a 4-5 record and still has a real shot at a playoffs berth.

Caja Laboral walloped Beşiktaş 77-51 in January, led by Maciej Lampe’s double-double.

“Looking at the standings, it seems hard to believe, but Beşiktaş is a team that competes, that never gives up and that is getting better on defense,” Tabak told euroleague.net. “It’s a similar team to Maccabi in that it depends a lot on its perimeter players who do damage one-on-one and are very skilled. When we compete at a high level and believe in what we do, we are capable of beating everybody.”