The semi-finals are played on a best-of-three basis, and Marko Simonović and his teammates will have a chance to advance to the finals on Friday in Ankara. Turk Telekom reached the final three years ago, but were defeated by Virtus in Bologna 80:67.
The only link between the then and the current team is coach Erdem Can, who returned to the Turkish capital after a short-lived episode at Anadolu Efes, and now the team does not have a single player from that 2022/2023 season.
Turk Telekom eliminated Manresa in the round of 16 in front of their own fans (98:81), then with a three-pointer by Kyle Olmen in the last second of the match in Belgrade, they eliminated the first favorite for the title, Hapoel from Jerusalem (91:90), and tonight they stormed through Burg an Bres.
The teams were tied until 11:11, and Džan's team gained a huge plus 19 (32:13) by the end of the 1st quarter. Simonović made a three-pointer at the beginning of the 2nd quarter for 35:13, and in the 19th minute it was 52:24.
Simonović's second three-pointer, i.e. his 10th point, increased the lead to 65:34 after 23 minutes of play, and soon the maximum plus 32 (67:35) was reached.
Former Montenegrin national team player Olmen was the player of the game with 19 points and five assists and rebounds, while Simonović scored 12 points and seven steals. Adam Mokoka (16) and Bot Gak (15) were the most efficient players for the home team.
The first match of the day was not such a one-way street, but in the second half there was no question of a winner. Besiktas played a weak first quarter at home, losing 25:14, but took the lead against Bahçeşehir in the 17th minute (32:31).
Dušan Alimpijević's team opened the third quarter with a 17:3 run for 54:42, after which the team of another Serbian expert, Marko Barać, never came close to being below minus seven (69:62). The final score was 91:72.
Jonah Matthews was the most efficient player on the winning team with 21 points, Devon Dotson scored 16, with six assists, while Bahçeşehir was led by Malachi Flynn with 19 and Matthew Mitchell with 18 points.
The relationship between the two Istanbul clubs is also interesting. Bahçeşehir is managed by Begum Yucel, the daughter of the founder of Bahçeşehir University and one of the richest men in Turkey, Enver Yucel.
He was the financier of the basketball section for years, before deciding to form his own club and leave it to his sister to manage. Enver's son, Husein, has been in the management structures of Beşiktaş for years, and even briefly served as the interim president of the sports association of one of Turkey's biggest clubs in late 2024, but lost the election to Serdar Adali.
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