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A tough one for Allen Iverson and his Beşiktaş Cola Turka tonight, as the Eagles take on KK Hemofarm Stada in Eurocup basketball play tonight at 6pm CET (noon EST). The Serbian team could clinch a spot to advance to the “Last 16” round thanks to tiebreakers.
Beşiktaş is coming off a win Saturday in the Turkish Basketball League (TBL), 96-75, against Antalya. Iverson did not play.
Three days after Allen Iverson sat out the fourth quarter for Beşiktaş Cola Turka against Asvel Basket and produced a few choice angry mutterings thereafter, Mr. Answer played nearly the entire game for Beşiktaş Cola Turka in last night’s 88-75 win at Olin Edirne.
Iverson’s shooting touch was still a off in playing just under 38 minutes, as A.I. went 3-of-10 in overall shooting for 10 points, but made up for it with five assists and a huge four steals. Coming up big for the Eagles was the bench: Serhat Cetin scored 23 points – many dished by Iverson – on crazy 9-of-10 shooting; Michal Ignerski contributed 17 to go with five rebounds; and Team Australia’s A.J. Ogilvy added a 12/6 and was credited for contributing to a defense that (finally) managed to win a fourth quarter. Beşiktaş’ usual starting point guard Mire Chatman took a DNP for the game.
Check out the videos below for a Turkish attempt to rattle Iverson, jeering whenever he touches the ball on offense.
BallinEurope buddy David Hein, hardworking Germany-based sportswriter and brain behind heinnews.com, traveled to Braunschweig last night (lucky bastard) to witness Allen Iverson’s professional debut in Deutschland, as Mr. Answer’s Beşiktaş Cola Turka took on BG Göttingen in game two of 2010-11 Eurocup play. This morning, Hein sent us this dispatch from a nail-biter of a game which left home fans happy and Iverson 0-3 in his European experiment.
The object of interest in BG Göttingen’s thrilling 85-83 victory over Beşiktaş Cola Turka in Week 2 of the Eurocup was clear.
On the one hand, there were signs reading things like: “We talkin’ about practice!” and “Yo A.I. This sure as hell ain’t practice!” And then there were dozens of fans running around with NBA no. 3 jerseys from Philadelphia, Denver, Detroit and Memphis and even no. 4 Team USA jerseys.
Yeah, this was an Allen Iverson crowd.
“My whole thing is to live up to my expectations. That’s all I want to do. Just make sure every game that I play – win or lose – the fans and the people in the city enjoy what they see and know that I’m going to come out and play as hard as I can and give everything I have to this team like I’ve done with everything I’ve been on in the NBA,” said Iverson, who had to watch as Trent Meachum nailed a buzzer-beating jumper for the German club.
Ball in Europe contributor Francesco Cappelletti contributes the second part of his look at the ACB with briefs on a dozen teams who won’t exactly compete for the Spanish league title, but certainly compare with most European competition. Part one can be read by clicking here.
One step behind. These ACB teams aren’t worthy of a title drive; despite this, their value is surely greater than other European mid-level teams. With at least seven or eight really good players apiece, they’re readier to exploit every possibility than richer and more ambitious clubs can. For example, Gran Canaria 2014 is coming off a monster season in which it finished the regular season in sixth place (ahead of Valencia) and was eliminated by Unicaja Malaga in the quarterfinals. Gran Canaria is now without Carl English, Mario Fernandez and Joel Freeland, who are testing themselves in top teams; however, the newly arrived Jaycee Carroll from Teramo and Will McDonald are noticeable names for a non-Euroleague team, and they fit perfectly into this team’s scheme thanks to men very similar to them. The skeleton is nearly the same as last year: Joshua Fisher and Marcus Norris comprise a duo that provides veteran attitude and intangibles, while Melvin Sanders, Sitapha Savane and James Augustine carry a strong presence on both ends of the floor.
