Bahamian pro players experience action in Europe

It was a busy weekend for Bahamian professional basketball players overseas as they were in action in their respective leagues.

Dwight Coleby scored nine points and grabbed eight rebounds in a road win for his team, Merkezefendi Belediyesi Denizli Basket (4-5), as they upset Kocaeli Bşb Kağitspor (6-3), 91-72, on Sunday afternoon. The game was played at Kocaeli Atatürk Spor Salonu in Kocaeli, Turkey.

With that win, Coleby’s team now sits in the number 13 position in the Turkish Basketball League, the second highest level of basketball in Turkey. Also, they snapped Kagitspor’s five-game winning streak.

The Bahamian finished the afternoon shooting a very efficient 4-for-7 from the field and split a pair of free throws. He had five defensive rebounds and three offensive boards for his eight rebounds, and added two blocked shots. This production was done in 23 minutes of play.

After giving up 22 points and only scoring 15 points in the first quarter, Denizli began to turn up their offensive tempo in the second quarter. In that quarter, they outscored their opponents, 23-12, to go up 38-34 at the half.

A 15-point advantage in the second half for Coleby and his squad was more than enough for them as they held on for a convincing win.

Denizli was dominant on the glass, winning that battle 39-25.

Zane Knowles and his team, Balikesir Büyükşehir Belediyespor (6-3), also picked up a win. They took down Semt77 Yalovaspor (1-7), 78-77, at Kurtdereli Spor Salonu in Balikesir, Turkey, on Saturday evening.

Balikesir plays in the same league as Denizli, and sit in the fifth position.

Knowles, a center, had a game-high 21 points and came away with five rebounds. He had the hot hand in the game, shooting a blistering 8-for-10 from the field and was 5-for-5 from the charity stripe. His production came in 28 minutes of play.

After getting caught off guard by Yalovaspor in the first quarter, going down 19-12, Knowles and his team bounced back. They gradually chipped away at the lead, but were still down 55-54 to start the fourth quarter.

Fast forward to 2:46 remaining in the fourth and the visitors holding onto a slim 75-74 lead. On the next possession, Knowles made a key bucket to put his team up 76-75.

Ali Isik scored a bucket to give Yalovaspor a one-point lead, 77-76, with 2:05 remaining. Knowles’ teammate Izett Turkyilmaz scored a basket with 1:52 remaining to give them the lead again at 78-77, which turned out to be the final score. Both teams could not find the bottom of the net down the stretch.

Balikesir is now riding a three-game winning streak.

It will be a battle between Coleby and Knowles as Denizli welcomes Balikesir to Denizli, Turkey, this Saturday at 3 p.m. local time in Denizli, eight hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time (EST) here in The Bahamas. The game will be played at Pamukkale Üniversitesi Spor Salonu.

In Spain, Harbour Island native Lashann Higgs’ double-double was not enough as her team, Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre (2-12), fell in a close 61-59 loss to fifth-ranked Tuenti Movil Estudiantes Madrid (10-5) at the Magariños Sports Center in Madrid, Spain, on Saturday night.

The loss puts Bembibre in the number 14 position in the Liga Femenina Endesa (Liga Dia), the highest women’s basketball league in Spain.

Higgs dropped in a team-high 17 points, and added 11 rebounds and two assists in the loss. She finished the night shooting 4-for-11 from the field, including 2-for-4 from deep. The guard went 3-for-4 from the free-throw line.

It was a good start for Higgs and her team as they looked like the better team on the floor in the first half. They led at the end of the first quarter, 13-11.

In the second quarter, they turned up the intensity on offense as they outscored Estudiantes, 23-16, to take a 36-27 lead at the half.

However, Higgs and her team’s offense dropped off in the second half as they scored as many points in the final two quarters as they did in the second quarter. They were outscored 34-23 in the second half. That was the difference in the game.

Bembibre will look to snap its two-game losing streak when they head on the road to play at the José Antonio Gasca in San Sebastián, Guipuzcoa, Spain, against the eighth seeded IDK Euskotren (7-8) on Saturday. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. local time in San Sebastián, six hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time (EST) here in The Bahamas.

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