Turkish TBL, Karsiyaka evens finals series

The Turkish TBL final is all square through Game 2 as Pinar Karsiyaka Izmir edged Anadolu Efes Istanbul on the road in a close encounter. Efes had romped to a home win in Karsiyaka earlier in the week, but the Izmir club responded well, although it was a very close contest. Indeed, the visitors emerged with an 85-86 single point win to tie the Turkish TBL finals series 1-1.

Anadolu Efes picked up where it left off after Game 1 and through a high quality first quarter opened a 23-22 lead. In the second frame Karsiyaka managed to find more consistency at the post and looked good in defence, winning the period 21-24 to make it 44-46 through halftime. Momentum was with the visitors and the Izmir contingent raced through the third act with a 19-23 run that made it 63-69 through thirty minutes. The inevitable response came from Anadolu Efes, but the Istanbul hosts could only win the fourth quarter 22-17, taking the game to the wire but still falling short.

Bobby Dixon was in phenomenal form for Karsiyaka as he scored 28 points and added 6 rebounds and 6 assists to his impressive haul. D.J. Strawberry added 16 points to the win, while Erkan Veyseloglu scored 11 points. Kenny Gabriel pulled 13 rebounds of the glass.

Nenad Krstic topped Anadolu Efes with 16 points, while Stephane Lasme scored 15 points, Stratos Perperoglou hit 14 points, with Dario Saric and Cedi Osman claiming 10 apiece.