Bonn Dial Up Win To Seal Top Spot

Jared Jordan dished out 10 assists to go with his 10 pints in Telekom Baskets win over Pinar Karsiyaka

Telekom Baskets Bonn clinched first place in EuroChallenge Group G with a 80-65 victory over Pinar Karsiyaka.

The German club, which led from start to finish on Tuesday, got 19 points from 23-year-old point guard Talor Battle.

Both teams knew beforehand they were headed to the Last 16 before the game.

Now the German outfit will advance with a 4-2 record - the best in the group.

Karsiyaka (3-3) had won the first encounter by a single point earlier.

They never recovered from a terrible start on Tuesday in which Telekom Baskets Bonn opened up a 27-12 advantage early in the second quarter.

Karsiyaka managed to reduce the deficit to 34-27 on a jumper by Goran Ikonic with 1:43 to go in the first half, but the German team stayed on top.

Jared Jordan's lay-up pushed the advantage back to 45-30 early in the second half, though Engin Bayav's first points of the game - a shot from the arc at the end of the third quarter - closed the gap to 55-50 for the visitors.

Zvonko Buljan's three-point play at the start of the fourth quarter pushed the advantage back to eight and Bonn, who out-rebounded Karsiyaka 37-26 and also handed out 16 assists to just nine for the visitors, won comfortably.

Buljan had 10 points and nine rebounds while Jordan did have a double-double.

The playmaker walked off the court with 10 points and 10 assists.

Ikonic had 16 points in defeat.

Quotes Telekom Baskets vs. Pinar Karsiyaka

„It is a good feeling to be on the first place in this strong group. Because of our win we avoid the far trip to Moscow. Talor Battle made a good game today, played hard defense and had some good plays in the offense. His transfer gives us the opportunity to share the minutes of all players to a moderate level."

Telekom Baskets Bonn player Talor Battle:
"I am satisfied with my first game but it is much more important that the team won the game. I was lucky that Jared Jordan gave me some good assists to hit the open three-pointers. We played good as a team and are looking forward to the next round."

Pinar Karsiyaka player Mire Chatman:
„We did not play as a team today. Bonn played with much more energy. The decision fell in the first and in the last quarter. I can promise that we will play better in the second round."

Pinar Karsiyaka head coach Hakan Demir:
„For us this was the third away game in a row within one week. So my team was a little bit tired while Bonn played with high energy. We lost the first quarter and could not reduce this residue during the game. But I congratulate my team for reaching the second round in this strong group."