This, that and the other
The League. I have started watching the Turkish league with the quarterfinals, and it was a pretty lopsided affair on both sides. The coaches of the losing sides, Ufuk Sarıca for Karşıyaka and Alimpijević for Beşiktaş, who were not able to steal a single game against their mighty opponents, both conceded that it was no contest, opting to talk about what their teams went through/accomplished this season rather than commenting on the game in their closing presser, from what I could catch. In the last 20 years only 4 teams other than Efes and Fenerbahçe, were able to claim the title in the Turkish League, Ülker (‘06), Beşiktaş (’12), Galatasaray (’13), and Karşıyaka (’15). In the last 9 years Fenerbahçe has claimed 5 titles, to Efes’ 3, with the pandemic stealing one away in 2020, providing a bit of context into the crazy rivalry between the two teams (but only a bit).
So that is how we got to game 3 of the finals, the only game we were able to attend in person due to a hectic family schedule, where the series shifted from the European side (Sinan Erdem) to the Asian Side, to Ülker Arena. With Fenerbahçe comfortably up 2–0 and Efes in no condition to put up any serious resistance, it looked like we would be in the stands for the finale of the 2023–2024 season. Normally, no one in their right mind would call a sweep against an Efes team in a finals series. And that was the problem really, the team was nowhere to be seen in the first two games. And the seemingly random collection of players thrown on the court, and on their own home court for that matter, did not stand a chance against a well oiled FB team. It looked like easy sailing for FB from then on.
Yeah, right… Game 3 was a completely different story… Efes came in determined to do whatever is necessary to get the W. Larkin was on the court almost for the duration of the game. And his team got his back…I have not written much about Efes this year, but that does not mean I am not following… I have watched almost every Euroleague game they have played. But in a mega city of millions, we are not only separated by neighborhoods but continents and a strait… And I was only able to catch a single game in Sinan Erdem, an early season game against Real Madrid, a dismal affair at best. But hey, thanks to some behind the bench tix, my son was able to get some crazy shots with Tavares that sits framed in his room, so all is well. But I digress… I have been following Efes also this season, and with this team there has never been any doubt as to whose jersey I will be getting…
Number 0. Toughness is often misrepresented in basketball. Anyone can play tough, or act tough… But toughness in its purest form is a form of self-expression. It is who you are, expressed through how you play. And nobody epitomized this better than Allen Iverson, one of my all-time favourite players, whom I was lucky enough to watch in real time in his prime in Philly. And in my mind that is where I place Shane Larkin… So you can say I have a sweet spot for him…
The other team. Growing up in Ankara, most of my early basketball memories were of Efes. One of the oldest basketball clubs in Turkey, dedicated only to basketball (a rare occurrence in Turkey), Efes was synonymous with basketball, and most of us grew up as Efes fans without realizing. The pinnacle was the Koraç Cup in 96, which we celebrated on the streets, with 10 old men, but still… In an era where we were using crappy phone cards for international calls and windows messenger for texting, long distance relationships were hard work… So with our move across the Atlantic our exposure to Turkish basketball was limited to the national team. Much has happened since then it seems, and the stories have been revealing themselves in their own time this season…
The matchup. Watching Efes-Fenerbahçe games this season has been no fun. Unable to root for either team to my heart’s liking, I let the flow of the games take me where they may, and most often than not I ended up not very far from where I started. But this has been the unfunnest of them all. It did not feel right to root against this feisty Efes team, clear underdogs -when did that happen- leaving it all on the floor. But we have been through a lot with this Fenerbahçe team this season, and at the end of the day you need to protect the ‘hood. By the fourth I was in full cheer mode in the stands but to no avail… It was an uninspiring performance by Fenerbahçe, who couldn’t protect the paint if their life depended on it. And they couldn’t… with 3.8 to go and the ball in their hands, Shane Larkin shook Calathes off for an easy layup… And that was the last play of the season for us. And our last memory of Mr. Calathes in a Fenerbahçe uniform it turns out. Fenerbahçe would go on to raise the cup on home court the next game, Calathes leaving soon after to be greeted by 10 old men in the village. And ladies and gentlemen, that is a wrap for the 23–24 season.
