A Breath-Taking Comeback at Ülker: Fenerbahçe Beko 73-72 Anadolu Efes, Series 2-0

Istanbul hosted one of the most tense matches of Turkish basketball at Ülker Sports and Event Hall on Wednesday evening. Fenerbahçe Beko defeated Anadolu Efes 73-72 in the second match of the semi-final series and caught a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. The result was the product of a dramatic comeback and tension that lasted until the last seconds of the match. After the dramatic 60-59 comeback in the first match played on Monday night, the yellow-and-navy team had to close a bigger gap this time.

The first half of the match belonged to Anadolu Efes. The navy-blue side, which closed the first quarter ahead 18-16, virtually exploded in the second quarter — producing 29 points and scattering the yellow-and-navy defence. At the end of this period, the scoreboard was 47-32 in favour of Efes. The 15-point gap had silenced the Fenerbahçe fans in the hall. The rhythm of the Efes attack led by Jordan Loyd and Shane Larkin was very high.

However, the third quarter changed the story completely. With the tactical changes made at half-time, a different Fenerbahçe Beko came onto the court. The third period was 24-11 in favour of Fenerbahçe — a huge quarter margin of 13 points. In this quarter, the yellow-and-navy team both confined Efes to 11 points in defence and established a balance in attack supporting Tarık Biberovic's scoring production. At the end of the quarter, the gap had dropped to only 2 points (56-58). The match was left to a single-digit fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter carried all the tension of the yellow-and-navy community. Fenerbahçe Beko took the match 73-72 with a 17-14 quarter and made its series superiority 2-0. In the last seconds, Anadolu Efes tried to resist on the rebounds but could not find a return shot. The score is 1 point, but for the yellow-and-navy community the victory is worth gold.

The statistics dramatically show the anatomy of the match. In shot attempts, Efes is slightly ahead: 58 to 57. In shot percentage there is again a slight superiority of Efes (41% — 40%). On the other hand, Fenerbahçe Beko provided superiority in total rebounds with 37 to 33 — especially the effectiveness in offensive rebounds was decisive in the last period. The margins between the two teams are quite narrow; this also explains why the match was unclear until the last seconds.

In individual performances, Bosnian-origin Tarık Biberovic was the star of the night. The player who stayed on the court for 31 minutes 58 seconds became the team's source of points and energy with 20 points, 5 rebounds and a +11 plus/minus statistic throughout the game. Talen Horton-Tucker became Biberovic's complement with 19 points, 1 assist and the highest +14 plus/minus value of the match. On the Anadolu Efes side, Jordan Loyd was the prominent name — he drew an effective performance with 19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists but his plus/minus was -6, reflecting his team's loss. Larkin and Dozier's low scores badly affected the Efes attack.

This victory is of great strategic importance for Fenerbahçe Beko. In the 5-match semi-final series, a 2-0 superiority is an advantage that has historically allowed about 85% of teams to complete the series. The series will now move to Bursa Hayri Terzioğlu Sports Hall — this is Anadolu Efes's temporary home (for Friday June 5 and if necessary Sunday June 7 matches). For Efes to rise from the series, they will need to win three matches in a row; difficult but not impossible. In the past, there have been teams returning from 0-2 in BSL, but rarely.

In the other semi-final, Beşiktaş GAİN is ahead 1-0 in the series against Bahçeşehir Koleji — they had won 82-79 on Tuesday night. The second match is Wednesday evening at Akatlar Arena. Possible final picture: Istanbul derby between Fenerbahçe Beko and Beşiktaş GAİN. Fenerbahçe Beko, with 12 BSL championships, had experienced victory most recently in the 2024-25 season (Khem Birch Finals MVP). Anadolu Efes is the league's most successful club with 16 BSL championships, but its last championship was in 2022-23 (Vasilije Micic Finals MVP). Beşiktaş's 14-year championship drought could make the final possibility an additional story. Now eyes are on Friday in Bursa.

Image: haberturk.com