Turkey TBL Round 8: Banvit suffers first loss

Turkey TBL Round 8 – The once mighty Banvit Basketbol Kulubu has fallen and no team stands in the league with an unblemished record. At 7-1 they still have a slight edge over a pack of five clubs, who at 6-2, are breathing down their necks. Banvit fell at the hands of now fifth placing Pinar Karsiyaka SK Izmir, 75:81.

The visiting Banvit BC found themselves trailing by six points at the halfway mark of the contest. They fought hard in the third frame though and managed to grind out a one-point lead going into the last quarter. The home team rallied in the final quarter to pull away with the eventual victory. Bobby Dixon (178 cm, Troy’06), who is on his second season with Karsiyaka carried his team for the win with a game-high 24 points. He did almost half of his damage from the stripe as he made 11 of 12 shots from the line. Dixon also knocked down three bombs from downtown. Fellow American import Jon Diebler (198 cm, Ohio State’11) came to his aid with 14 points, while both Leo Lyons (206 cm, Missouri’09) and Esteban Bautista (208 cm) each added 10 points of their own.

Banvit came to the floor with a one-two punch in Earl Rowland (188 cm, St. Mary’s’05) and Sammy Mejia (198 cm, De Paul’07), who each delivered 20 points apiece! The duo just lacked a little bit more support to complement their effort with a follow through as they were the only ones to hit double digits.

The loss cracked Banvit’s five-game winning streak, but they face Trabzonspor (1-7) next, a team still lining the league’s cellar at 16th place. Banvit hopes to climb back on the wagon and get a fresh streak going. Karsiyaka, on the other hand, is hoping that the momentum brought by this upset-win will carryover as they look to distance themselves from the rest of the top teams.

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The rest of the Round 8 games on November 30:

Usak Sportlif (6-2) vs. Tofas Bursa (4-4), 75:71

Trabzonspor (1-7) vs. Turk Telekom Ankara (4-4), 71:73

Olin Edirne (3-5) vs. Besiktas Istanbul (3-5), 79:86

Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul (5-3) vs. Royal Hali Gaziantep (2-6), 79:69

Aykon TED Kolejliler Ankara (6-2) vs. Aliaga Petkim (1-7), 72:69

A couple of games were played yesterday, December 1. Here are the results:

Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul (6-2) vs. Torku Selcuk Universitesi Konya (3-5), 97:80

Mersin Buyuksehir Belediye (1-7) vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul (6-2), 76:81