ISTANBUL — Anadolu Efes opened the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi season with a convincing 95-81 victory over Beşiktaş at the Basketbol Gelişim Merkezi, pulling away in the second half to secure the Week 1 derby win.
Efes led 20-16 after the first 10 minutes behind Bruno Fernando’s interior presence and contributions from David Mutaf, while Beşiktaş stayed close through Berk Uğurlu’s drives and Ante Zizic inside. Beşiktaş found rhythm in the second quarter as Anthony Brown hit consecutive threes and Wenyen Gabriel added energy, but Jordan Loyd, Santiago Yusta and Daron Russell answered to keep Efes in front. Dario Saric took over on both ends late in the half with steals and baskets, and after Furkan Korkmaz’s three and Yusta’s free throws for Beşiktaş, Saric’s final basket sent Efes into halftime up 46-37.
The hosts broke the game open after the break. A Saric basket followed by a Mutaf three made it 53-41, and with Loyd and Fernando contributing, Efes kept the margin in double figures. Mike James then seized control, scoring himself and setting up Ercan Osmani and Fernando to stretch the lead to 17. Beşiktaş tried to respond through Zizic and Conor Morgan, but Efes carried a 75-59 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Erkan Yılmaz and Yusta pushed the lead to 20 early in the final period, and despite late scores from Korkmaz and Uğurlu, Beşiktaş could not mount a comeback as Efes closed out the 95-81 win. Saric led Efes with 16 points, followed by Mike James and Jordan Loyd with 11 each and Matthew Strazel with 10. For Beşiktaş, Anthony Brown scored 13, Zizic added 12, David DeJulius had 11 and Uğurlu finished with 10. Efes will visit Pizzabulls Bordo Bandırma next, while Beşiktaş will host Trabzonspor in Week 2.