By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The championship title in Turkish TBL will not be decided on the court and Fenerbahce/ Ulker has already won it, after the decision of Galatasaray, which was officially announced by club president Unal Aysal, to not participate in Game 7 of the finals.
According to Galatasaray there were security concerns about the safety of the team in Fenerbahce/ Ulker’s gym. There was also discontent about the “light” punishment of Fenerbahce with a 8.500 euros fine for incidents that happened in Game 5 and the fact that Recep Ankarali was one of the referees of the last game of the finals. That’s not the end of it, as Galatasaray is threatening of withdrawing both men and women’s teams from next season’s domestic competitions, implying that TBF is biased in favor of Fenerbahce.
It’s an odd allegation, since TBF has hired Galatasaray’s coach Ergin Ataman as the national team coach, which was already made by Fenerbahce/ Ulker last week. Now Fenerbahce/ Ulker is expected to be named TBL’s champion by winning the last game with a 20-0 score.
UPDATE: One day later, on the 18 of June, there were reports about Galatasaray changing its position, however the players of the team this time reaffirmed that they will not play in Game 7.