Allen Iverson remains oh-for-Europe after his first TBL game with Beşiktaş Cola Turka, a 74-67 loss to Euroleague squad Fenerbahçe Ülker. More distressing for Beşiktaş was another disappointing fourth quarter: The Eagles entered the last stanza tied at 53, only to be outplayed and outscored by Fenerbahçe, 21-14 over the final 10 minutes.
In general, Beşiktaş’ high-profile backcourt tandem of Mire Chatman and Mr. Answer was outdone by their Croatian counterparts on Fenerbahçe. Neither Eagle bothered making a three-point attempt at all and combined for just 2-of-12 shooting and seven points (Iverson contributed just two on a single bucket). Meanwhile, Roko Ukic and Marko Tomas teed off, going 5-of-7 on threes.
And here’s a view from the stands:
Meanwhile, The Philadelphia Inquirer ran a story on Iverson’s early going in Istanbul with, one can’t help thinking, a bit of a sour grapes tone. Among the excerpts:
“The 76ers’ former all-everything guard is broke – by all accounts except his own – and playing here in Istanbul for a number of reasons, none of which is to become an ambassador for Turkey’s solid, but often overlooked, professional league …
“A member of one NBA front office, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the subject matter, said that prior to last season, a member of Iverson’s family called to inquire about a contract for Iverson, explaining that Iverson owed that person money and would be unable to pay without a contract.
“A similar source explained that Iverson is broke, plain and simple.”
Beşiktaş Cola Turka plays BG Göttingen in Germany on Tuesday night, the second game of the 2010-11 Eurocup campaign.
