‘Thrilling victory’ for Koopspor
Koopspor top the league table in final round of group matches after beating NEU 78-77
KOOPSPOR beat Near East University (NEU) 78-77 to top the table in the final round of group matches of the 2020-2021 men’s basketball season.
The thrilling victory by the narrowest of margins came at NEU’s home court, the RA-25 sports hall.
NEU led for much of the match, going into the dressing room for the half-time break 45-37 ahead.
The third period was a tighter affair, with both teams scoring 18 points each. The final quarter saw Kercem İnancı and Alpay Şerbetçioğlu of Koopspor net 10 points without response to help their side take a 65-63 advantage with six minutes to go. The lead then changed hands several times during the final stages of the match. NEU looked to have sealed a fifth win from five matches when they took a 7776 lead, but another two-point basket from İnancı put Koopspor back in front with 2.3 seconds on the clock.
The result was confirmed when a last-gasp attempt from NEU’s Berkem Dikengil bounced off the hoop.
The top scorer of the match was Kercem İnancı with 21 points while Koopspor’s Temur Rustamov, who was on the court for nearly 40 minutes, more than any other player, was named man of the match.
The result meant that Koopspor finished the group stage of the league season in top spot, with nine points from five games. They finished ahead of NEU, who also had nine points, due to their head-to-head record.
Girne American University (GAU) finished third in the group on eight points. Fourth place — and the final slot in the semi-finals of the championship — went to Soyer Hacıganimler after they beat Çetinkaya 81-62 in a play-off after both sides finished on seven points.
Eastern Mediterranean University finished bottom of the group after losing all five of their fixtures.
In the best-of-three semifinals, which started this week, NEU were pitted against GAU while Koopspor took on Soyer Hacıganimler.