TUR - Fenerbahçe thump Efes Pilsen in finals opener

ISTANBUL (Türkiye Basketbol Ligi) - Fenerbahçe Ulker raced out to an early double-digit lead and never looked back as they cruised past reigning champions Efes Pilsen 78-62 in Game 1 of the Turkish League finals.

The Yellow Canaries used some great ball movement and smart offense to take a 21-9 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Efes, playing at home, struggled to find the range as they missed 14 of their 15 attempts from three-point territory. They trailed 44-29 at halftime and 60-44 heading into the fourth quarter.

The trio of Ender Arslan, Charles Smith and Booty Thornton helped the home side cut the deficit to 64-51 early in final frame, but that would be the closest they would get the rest of the way.

Fenerbahçe were firing on all cylinders, shooting well (they hit 25 of 47 attempts from two-point range and seven of 12 from beyond the arc) and willingly shared the ball, as their 18 assists indicate.

Roko-Leni Ukic had 12 points and seven assists and Tarence Kinsey added a dozen points and dished out six dimes.

The three-point shooting and assist discrepancy (18 to 10 in favour of Fenerbahçe) were what really separate these arch-rivals as they were quite even in every other statistical category.

Mario Kasun paced Efes with 12 points and eight rebounds.

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is on Saturday.

FIBA