By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Turkish BSL league defending champion Fenerbahce Beko began the new season by beating Bahcesehir 78 – 72 at home. It was Fener‘s first win of 2022-23 after getting beaten by Anadolu Efes in the Turkish Presidential Cup Final.
Bahcesehir was leading 32 – 41 at halftime but Fener struck back after the break. With the score 41 – 47, Dimitris Itoudis’ players made a 14 – 0 run and went on to get a 59 – 49 lead at the end of the third quarter.
While Fener had the momentum, Bahcesehir made its own comeback effort to approach 72 – 70 down the stretch. Nigel Hayes-Davis pulled Fener at a two-possession distance and his team survived a tough battle in the season opener.
Hayes-Davis finished with 21 points plus six rebounds and was one of the key players of Fener in the third-quarter turnaround, together with Melih Mahmutoglu (20 points). Scottie Wilbekin added 13 points.
Jamar Smith had 16 points and Jerry Boutsielle posted 15 points plus 12 rebounds for Bahcesehir. Meanwhile, Efes also got a big win over Galatasaray.
BSL – Round 1
Anadolu Efes – Galatasaray 77-68
Merkezefendi – Petkim 70-79
Turk Telekom – Darussafaka 90-87
Gaziantep – Bursaspor 50-69
Fenerbahce – Bahcesehir 78-72
Tofas – Buyukcekmece 92-53
Besiktas – Konyaspor 82-90
Pinar Karsiyaka – Manisa 79-76