By Niki Bakouli/ bakouli@eurohoops.net
It was the end of an era, not only in Turkish, but also in European basketball. The rebounds record holder in Euroleague, Mirsad Turkcan, retired. An exhibition game was played in Istanbul in his honor, between his last team, Fenerbahce/ Ulker which beat CSKA Moscow 74-56.
The story of the game, however, was Mirsad himself. The ceremony of his retirement was really touching as you can see in the video and if you want to know more about his thoughts, his career, next Euroleague season and his basketball future you can read his Eurohoops.net interview.
In Spain, Real Madrid beat cross town rival Estoudiantes, a team of Spanish ACB league, by 11 points (71-60) and won the tournament of Madrid thanks to a big game from Chicago Bulls draft pick Nikola Mirotic (21 p., 8 r.) and 18 points by former NBAer Rudy Fernandez. Also, Spanish team Caja Laboral finished its preparation stage in France by losing 79-77 to Cholet.
Returning in Turkey, Banvit, a Eurocup team, beat Anadolu Efes 78-74 in the final of preparation tournament Rixos Cup. Former NBAer Jordan Farmar with 18 points was the top scorer for the losing side.