Check out the Game 2 predictions from EuroCupbasketball.com staff members.
Semifinals predictions: Game 2, Bourg vs. Besiktas
![Semifinals predictions: Game 2, Bourg vs. Besiktas](https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/a9683260-0944-410a-a5c6-b745972d72f5.jpg?crop=1080%3A607%3Anowe%3A270%3A44)
The best-of-three BKT EuroCup Semifinals feature an intriguing showdown between Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse and Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul.
Besiktas to force Game 3
by Geoff Gillingham
Besiktas blew hot and cold at home this year, going 5-3 in Istanbul in the regular season (it played one game in Slovenia, a contest it lost), but it will have a new home for one night only as thousands of fans flock to Sinan Erdem Sports Hall, Anadolu Efes Istanbul’s 16,000-seater arena. Given that Besiktas’s BJK Emlakjet Sports & Event Hall can hold just 3,200 fans, Bourg can expect quite the atmosphere when it takes to the floor on Friday evening. I think that the Besiktas players, namely Angel Delgado and Jonah Mathews, will rise to the occasion and send the series back to France for a do-or-die Game 3. My pick: Besiktas.
Bourg will pass the Istanbul test
by Igor Petrinovic
Bourg displayed just how tough that team is in Game 1. It had 2 more turnovers, 1 fewer rebound and just 1 assist more than its rival, Besiktas. Still, Bourg spent the great majority of the final three quarters with a double-digit lead. In Istanbul, Bourg will face an atmosphere it has not encountered the entire season, a test against an opponent with its back against the wall. I think Bourg passes another test with flying colors and sweeps its way into the EuroCup Finals. My pick: Bourg.
Bourg gets out the broom
by Frank Lawlor
Good as its home record is, 10-1 and counting, Bourg is on the brink of the finals thanks to its last two road wins, low-scoring, late-regular-season tests at Turk Telekom Ankara and Aris Midea Thessaloniki, teams with raucous crowds then surging toward postseason qualification. Bourg was unfazed, just as I expect it will be on Friday against Besiktas's even bigger crowd. Bourg learned resilience from lacking it last season, and has won with an even temperament throughout this one. This team knows itself and knows what it will take to win on Friday. My pick: Bourg.
Besiktas ties the series
by Javier Gancedo
Friday is going to be a very special night for Besiktas as it hosts Game 2 of its semifinals series against Bourg in front of a sellout crowd at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall. Bourg will be walking into an atmosphere of noisy opposition that it's not used to. In its only other game at Sinan Erdem this season, Besiktas edged Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 68-64 in Turkish League action. In Game 1, Matt Mitchell, Derek Needham and Jonah Mathews combined for a PIR of -8 at halftime. That is unlikely to happen again. Angel Delgado gives Besiktas a clear advantage in the paint, and head coach Dusan Alimpijevic is all about capitalizing on those. My pick: Besiktas.
Bourg’s depth sends it onward
by Frankie Sachs
Not to toot my own horn too much, but did you notice how spot on my Game 1 prediction was? Bourg by a dozen! And the final score was 86-74… It won’t be as easy this time, but nonetheless I expect a Bourg win and series sweep. Why you ask? Bourg won the opener despite a lukewarm showing by Zaccharie Risacher and a quiet day from Hugo Benitez. No one on the team had freak performance that cannot be repeated. Meanwhile, Besiktas center Angel Delgado dominated the paint and I expect Bourg to arrive better prepared to contain him. It should be much closer than Game 1, but… My pick: Bourg