MEGA GREAT AGAINST BESIKTAS, TURKISH VICE-CHAMPION WON IN FINISH

Mega Bemax players played a great control match at the Mega Factory Hall in Belgrade, but in the end, Turkish team Besiktas Sompo Japan won with 78:80 (14:21, 21:23, 21:11, 22:25). Players of Dejan Milojevic played a great match where they first left the Besiktas in the third quarter without points for 6 minutes with a 15-0 series, but Turkish guests in the finals came to victory.

The best in the ranks of Mega Bemax were Dylan Ennis with 24 points and 7 rebounds. Nikola Rebic scored 15 points with 6 assists while Stefan Fundic had 12 points and 12 rebounds. At the Besiktas team, the best were Clark with 20 and Boatright who scored 18 points.

Dejan Milojević started the match with the following five: Rebic, Ennis, Lazic, Fundic and Bitadze. Rebic plays well at the beginning of the match and Mega after 2:7, makes a 7:0 series and moves into the lead. Bitadze is excellent on both sides, after a great block in the Besiktas counter, followed by dunk on the other side. However, in the finish, Mega had several misses, so the first period ended with 14:21.

Marjanovic starts the second quarter for Mega Bemax well, after hitting the first three and then finding Fundic under the basket. However, guests from Turkey are reaching a two-digit advantage, 20:31. Enis guards the troika to end a series of guests. By the end of the half, none of the teams failed to make a bigger series, so it went off 35:44 at half-time.

Fantastic defense of Mege at the start of the second half, where guests from Turkey were without a point for six minutes, and Mega took the lead 48:44, with three pointer of Ennis and layup of Lazic, making series 15:0. Besiktas briefly interrupted the series, but by the end of the quarter Ennis tied points. However, Besiktas scored three in the last second of the third quarter for 56:55.

Great fight was continued in the last quarter, Ennis and Rebic are excellent in the attack and Mega keeps the lead. Besiktas cuts through Clark, but Mega returns through the triple of Kapetanovic and new points of Ennis. Mega leads 72:66 for three minutes to finish, but Strawberry in two attacks hit two triples and the result is tied. Ennis hit one free throw, Clark hit three and Besiktas leads 74:75. Mega does not hit the next two attacks and guests from the free throw line arrive at plus 4 in the last minute. Rebic hits three pointer for 77:78 with 20 seconds to finish. Strawberry was fouled, strikes both free throws, in the next attack Rebic misses three from a difficult position and Ennis catches offensive rebound, after which he is fouled with two seconds before the end. He scored the first free-throw, misses the second after which Mega didn’t grab offensive rebound, so Besiktas came to win 78:80.

Mega Bemax: Rebic 15 (6 assists), Enis 24 (8 rebounds), Jovicic 3, Kapetanovic 5, Marjanovic 2, Sinovec 2, Bitadze 11 (7 rebounds), Lazic 2, Koprivica, Fundic 12, Samardziski 2.

Besiktas Sompo Japan: Strawberry 13 (7 assists), Boatright 18, Utku Al 3, Guler 1, Clark 20, Taskiran, Geyik 2, Diebler, Weems, Mutaf 17, Lima 6 (7 rebounds).

Photo: Mega Bemax/Hasan Avci