In the seventh week of the Türkiye Sigorta Basketball Super League, we faced Fenerbahçe Beko on the road and suffered an 86-72 defeat. The game, played at Ülker Sports and Event Hall, saw our team trailing 49-35 at halftime.
Our starting five for the game was Thompson, Elijah, Erkan, Ercan, and Oturu. In the first minute, baskets from Elijah and Erkan leveled the score at 4-4. Oturu’s four points brought the score to 8-9 in the fifth minute, while Elijah contributed 10 points to help us regain the lead at 19-17 in the ninth minute. In the final minute of the quarter, Oturu added a slam dunk, and the first 10 minutes ended in a 21-21 tie. The second quarter began with Poirier scoring in the paint: 23-21. However, Poirier received an unsportsmanlike and a technical foul, leading to his ejection at 12:30. Points from Nwora and Johnson brought the score to 29-31 at 14:30. After free throws from Rıdvan and Oturu, Ercan scored four points, making it 35-43 in the 19th minute. We couldn’t score in the final minute of the half and entered halftime trailing 49-35.
In the second half, our first points came from Oturu and Willis, and we entered the 22nd minute down 51-39. Elijah’s six points brought the score to 45-59 in the 25th minute. In the second half of the quarter, Thompson and Ercan each scored two points, while Elijah added one, leaving us trailing 67-50 heading into the final 10 minutes. In the fourth quarter, Rıdvan scored our first basket, making it 52-67 at 32:30. Unfortunately, Doğuş sustained an injury and was sidelined. Points from Willis and Elijah brought the score to 62-75 at 37:30, but Elijah was ejected after receiving two technical fouls. Despite Nwora’s late contributions, we couldn’t take the lead and lost the game 86-72.
