By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
After a couple of wins in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague earlier in the first week of February, Fenerbahce Beko took down Frutti Extra Bursaspor, 99-96, Sunday.
Ismet Akpinar poured a season-high 19 points, behind 6/6 field goals. He went 5/5 from beyond the arc, including the go-ahead triple with 2:50 remaining in the back-and-forth BSL Regular Season Round 20 contest.
Clemson alumnus Devin Booker threw in 19 more points. Captain Melih Mahmutoglu added 18 points. The team coached by Sasha Djordjevic improved its league-leading record to 17-4 after going up to 11-10 in EuroLeague by beating LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne Tuesday and AX Armani Exchange Milan Thursday.
Nando de Colo, Jan Vesely, Marial Shayok, Marko Guduric, Danilo Barthel, and Achille Polonara were unavailable. However, recent addition Markel Starks debuted with ten points in 15 minutes.
Onuralp Bitim and Andrew Andrews both put up 19 points for the losing side falling to 8-9 at the domestic level.
Fellow EuroLeague representative, Anadolu Efes beat Galatasaray Nef, 103-91, and got to 15-4. Vasilije Micic and Shane Larkin combined for 11 triples. Ergin Ataman’s stars ended up with 28 and 20 points, respectively. Melo Trimble scored 31 points for the losing side forced down to 12-8.
The Lions avoided suiting up players previously testing positive for COVID-19 as all active players were cleared prior to the Istanbul derby. Most players missed practices the entire week though.
BSL Round 20:
Pinar Karsiyaka – Gaziantep 84-76
HDI Sigorta Afyon Belediyesi – Yukatel Merkezefendi 92-83
Buyukcekmece – Darussafaka 67-92
Tofas – Bahcesehir Koleji 78-96
Besiktas Icrypex – Semt77 Yalovaspor 94-85
Fenerbahce Beko – Frutti Extra Bursaspor 99-96
Turk Telekom – Aliaga Petkim Spor 75-70
Galatasaray Nef – Anadolu Efes 91-103
Photo Credit: Fenerbahce Beko Twitter