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Very important game for both teams

Aliaga lost their first game to Banvit, and in the following two rounds they play against Galatasaray and Fener. If they lose today, they could easily be 0-4 after first four rounds.

League newcomer performed good in couple of matches of the cup tournament, a local competition that is held before regular season. They continued to perform good against Besiktas in the first game of the season. Selcuk won the first quarter 19-14, but they were struggling with the rebounds throughout the game. Besiktas had 25 more rebounds (50-25) and that probably won them points that day. In fact, it is a miracle that Selcuk managed to lose with only 14 points difference with that kind of rebound ratio.

- We experienced a major crisis in the second half, and we couldn't stop Besiktas's offensive rebounds - coach Cengiz Karadag said after the match.

Their free throw percentage was also pretty bad (6/13, 46%), and their defense just couldn't stop home team shooter Chris Lofton (23p). Just like during the pre-season tournament, shooting-guard Troy DeVries was their best player. He scored 18 points and added 6 assists. But, he was only 5/11 for three points. Power forward Troy Gillenwater scored 22 points. He was 8/13 for two, 1/4 for three, and 3/7 from the free throw line.

We predicted that Selcuk will have a lot of trouble with domicile players in the rotation. This season each club in Turkey must have at least two domicile players on the court during the game. And in the first match of the season only two Turkish players scored points for Selcuk - plamaker Koseoglu (13p, 5a) and power forward Burak Selen (6p, 5a). Orcun Okkali spent a lot of time on the court but he failed to score a single point.

- In the first quarter we played exactly like we wanted to. But, Besiktas then started to perform even better, and they had a lot more rebounds. Third quarter was the decisive one, we started it very slow... - forward Barkin Haluk said.

Coach Kadag added that Yunus Akcay and Valentin Pastal were struggling with minor injuries and that complicated things for them in the rotation. According to the local press, both of these players should be fit to play today.

The most interesting moment of the game against Besiktas happened in the 26th minute, and that was probably one of the weirdest moments in the first round. Selcuk's center Sean Williams wasn't satisfied with the referee's decision so he remained on their own half and just watched his team rush in the attack. Besiktas successfully defended the attack and then they rushed toward him. Williams decided to participate in the defense, but Perkins hit the 3-pointer over him. A weirdo, what else to say. Club officials later said he will be punished, but he should be on the court today.

This is a very important game for Selcuk, as Aliaga are one of the teams they can win against. Both of the teams will fight to avoid relegation this year and winning points today is thus even more valuable. In the next three rounds Selcuk are playing two away matches (Tofas and Banvit) and one at home against Tuek Telekom. They can't really count on many points from those matches and that makes today's game even more important.

Aliaga suffered a heavy loss in the first round against very strong Banvit. That was an even match for about 15 minutes, but in the last minutes of the first quarter Banvit took the 7 lead. In the third and fourth quarter Aliaga scored only 27 points and continued their streak of bad offensive performances. Their three pointer percentage was very low (26%) that day. This is a very important game for them too as they face Galatasaray and Fenerbahce in the next two rounds.

- Our main goal is to win today. We have minor problems with injuries. Sommerville is slightly injured, but he will be able to play. In the next two rounds we play against Galatasaray and Fener so we wish to win some points today - manager Birtan Saka said.

In the four official matches this season, Aliaga Petkim didn't go over 64 points. Therefore, you cannot expect them to go over 75 today, in an important away match against the direct rival in the relegation battle. Selcuk might not be the best defensive team of the league, but we don't expect an offensive rhapsody today. Last week at Besiktas Selcuk conceded 81 point, while they left Besiktas on 14 in the first period. They didn't do their job with rebounds, they had an incredible 25 rebounds less, Besiktas scored a lot of three-pointers and with all that combined they were left on low 81. Aliaga won't score that much...