Fenerbahce Basketball Champions!

Fenerbahce Basketball Champions!

By Nathan L. Redd

Congratulations to the women's and men's basketball teams of Fenerbahce, who both won championships in this centennial year. The men's team, Fenerbahce Ulker, swept their rivals Efes Pilsen to win their first Beko Basketball League title in 16 years. Fener was led by Willie Solomon, who was named League MVP for the season. The women's team slid by Besiktas Cola Turka to claim their championship.

Ibrahim Kutluay and Mirsad Turkcan paced the Canaries in the first quarter of game four, as Fener looked to sweep the series 4-0 to win the title. Fenerbahce Ulker led 46-31 at the break, and the Canaries were able to break the game open in the second half, cruising to a 98-73 victory and the championship. Turkcan led Fener Ulker in scoring with 21 points, while Omer Onan had 17. Ibrahim Kutluay finished with 19 points, Damir Mrsic had 15, and League MVP Willie Solomon finished with 10.

The Fenerbahce women's basketball team claimed their championship on the backs of Nevriye Yilmaz, Cappie Pondexter, and Tammy Sutton-Brown. Fener defeated their rivals, Besiktas Cola Turka, to bring glory to the club in this 100th year of Fenerbahce Spor Kulubu. Unlike the men, the final game was a nail-biter that went down to the wire. Fenerbahce, however, held on for a 59-57 victory. Pondexter led the Canaries with 22 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. Fellow WNBA veterans Nevriye Yilmaz added 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists, while Tammy Sutton-Brown chipped in 5 points and 8 boards, while blocking 6 shots in the game.

Basketball, and especially women's sport, is very important to "Fenerbahce Worldwide." In the future, we hope to cover more sports throughout the club, in addition to futbol. We also hope to one day see women's futbol come to Fenerbahce Spor Kulubu. Congratulations to all of the champions of Fenerbahce in all sports. We are very proud of all of the Fenerbahce participants in all sports. They are all champions to us! En Buyuk Fener!

(Photos courtesy of Fenerbahce.org)