Six players hit double figures as Turk Telekom capitalizes on turnovers and offensive boards to secure a crucial win
Balanced attack and hustle lift Turk Telekom past Trento
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 13 of 18
Regular Season
group b
Turk Telekom AnkaraTTA
9286
Dolomiti Energia TrentoTRE
group b
Overview
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Turk Telekom Ankara snapped its two-game skid with a hard-fought 92–86 victory over Dolomiti Energia Trento on Wednesday night at Ankara Spor Salonu, strengthening its bid for a top-two finish in Group B.
“Defense is the biggest thing that we have to do every night,” said Kris Bankston, who led the hosts with 14 points. “The atmosphere was great tonight.”
The win lifted Turk Telekom to 8–5, while Trento fell to 7–6 after its four-game winning run came to an end. Despite shooting better from all ranges — 52.6% to 46.3% on two-pointers, 47.6% to 37.5% from deep, and 84.2% to 81.8% at the line — Trento was undone by 22 turnovers and 14 offensive rebounds allowed. Those extra chances turned into 18 second-chance points for the home side.
Kyle Alexander added 13 points and Jordan Usher 12 for the winners.
Dogus Ozdemiroglu set the tone early, scoring 10 points without a miss in the opening 7 minutes to give Turk Telekom a 27-22 edge after one quarter. Despite Trento’s superior shooting, Turk Telekom was ahead 47-43 at the break.
The decisive stretch came in the third quarter. Bankston’s energy inside sparked Turk Telekom before Uros Trifunovic caught fire with 10 points in the period, including a three-pointer that made it 69–57 — the first double-digit margin of the night.
Trento rallied behind Khalif Battle early in the fourth, cutting the deficit to 69–64, but he had little help as no other Trento player scored during that stretch and Turk Telekom rebuilt control. Matas Jogela’s late shooting flurry narrowed the gap, yet the hosts sealed the win from the line.
While pleased with the result, Turk Telekom coach Erdem Can, was not a happy man after the game ended: “We played terrible basketball today, especially defensively. It’s unacceptable… Closing the game in the final minutes, I cannot describe. It’s a disaster. We need to get better.”
Trento stayed close thanks to Matas Jogela and Peyton Aldridge, who scored 16 points apiece. Aldridge buried 4 of 6 triples, while Jogela knocked down 4 late threes to keep his team alive.
“We were there,” said Trento coach Massimo Cancellieri. “We played in Ankara and lost by 6. We tried to the end and never gave up. We have to be proud of what we did.”
Trento will seek to regroup at home in Round 14 next week against Panionios Cosmorama Travel Athens, while Turk Telekom will welcome the London Lions to the Turkish capital.
