Iverson in Turkish Basketball League: BJK vs Fenerbache

Be?ikta? Cola Turka(BJK) play Fenerbahçe Ülker today. Funny thing is both teams are sponsored by Ülker, a food company, which is also funny as the name sounds like ulcer, an odd name for a food company. But that’s not all that’s unusual about this match. What makes this match unique is that it will be on NBA TV. Thanks to the appeal of Allen Iverson, which still exists in US, all the way to Turkey and beyond.

-Recap of AI’s first match:

AI made his debut for Be?ikta? on November 16 against Hemofarm Stada in a Eurocup match; he started at SG and took some time getting into his rhythm. He missed a couple of jumpers and went to the bench for a while. Later he reentered the game and scored his first points in the second quarter in classic AI fashion, off an And 1 play by slicing to the hoop, converting, and getting fouled to get two points ‘and 1’ from the free throw line.

Later AI even had a 4 point play late in the 4^th quarter, by hitting a 3 while being fouled in the process. But his team seemed to be playing against Murphy’s Law. At one point they were up by 17, but towards the end of the game, their opponents hit 5 consecutive 3s in the last 2 minutes and won 91-94. AI had 15 points on 4 of 10 shooting.

-Understanding the Turkish League and Be?ikta?

There are 16 teams in The Turkish Basketball League, in a season the teams play each other twice, one at their home and other away. In addition to the TBL, Be?ikta? also play in the Eurocup, which is a group format tournament with 32 clubs from all over Europe.

Format explained in flowchart. (http://www.eurocupbasketball.com/ulebcup/home/on-court/format)

I’m reminded of Playing for Pizza, a novel by John Grisham. The protagonist, a football (American) player goes to Italy where he is embraced, to ply his trade in one of their clubs. He enjoys the differences in the culture and the game. His story seems parallel to AI going to Turkey; only AI is something of a rock star in Turkey.

On AI’s first day in Turkey, he attended a morning practice despite his jet lag; he wasn’t expected to attend that practice. For the past decade, every year AI has insisted that his goal for the season is to win a championship, however far fetched it may sound. He always expects and believes to achieve the best for him and his team. His teammates have said that his attitude is the same whether his team is up 20 or down 20. He’s always telling his teammates to keep their heads up and never let up. On this team, he is the oldest, at 35 years of age. Only two years ago he averaged 27 points and 7 assists while playing alongside Carmelo Anthony. What he brings to the table goes way beyond numbers.

Today, AI and Be?ikta? take on Fenerbache, the defending champions, in the TBL. Tip off is at 3:30 PM Turkish time, that is around 7:00 PM IST, coinciding with the India-Philippines match. Neither of which I expect to find on TV, if I find a live stream link, I’ll post it here.