By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Fenerbahce is the first team that advances to the Final in Turkey. By winning Pinar Karsiyaka 82 – 72, coach Obradovic‘s players have the chance to win their first trophy in the season.
With momentum by sound victory in the quarterfinal, Pinar Karsiyaka entered the match with an appetite to create an other upset in the competition. Fenerbahce was stunned a bit by this in the beginning, but soon recovered. Yet the game remained quite tight with Karsiyaka having a small lead thanks to a fantastic Lazeric Jones. Until the second half. Lugi Datome and Bobby Dixon were unstoppable and through their actions, Fenerbahce went ahead in the third quarter. Ricky Hickman then did his part, giving a double digit lead to his team, which was enough to pave the way for the Final.
We had to wait for the very final minutes of the other semifinal, between Darussafaka Dogus and Banvit in order to find out the winner. The team from Bandirma looked and played better holding a steady lead, that had even reached double digit numbers at some point in the third quarter. But it was then that Dacka made an impressive 11-0 run to get ahead of the score and turn the match into a roller-coaster. Banvit fought back but was never able to regain what was lost. Courtney Fortson missed a 3 point shot in the last seconds and Darussafaka advanced to the final.
Turkish Cup Semifinals:
Fenerbahce (21 p. 7 r. ) – Pinar Karsiyaka: 82 – 72
Darussafaka Dogus (Milko Bjelica 25 p. 10 r.) – Banvit: 76 – 74
Final:
Sunday 19/2 (18.30 local time):
Fenerbahce – Darussafaka Dogus