Banvit won the important 4th game of the Turkish Beko Basketball League Semifinals and tied the series at 2-2.
Anadolu Efes, needed a home win at Sinan Erdem Arena, started better than the rivals from Bandirma. Visitors struggled to score in the first quarter and managed to find only 6 points until last three minutes of the first period. Combining hard defense with extra offensive contribution from Balbay, Anadolu Efes opened a fourteen points difference in the end of the first half: 44-30.
Banvit finally found the balance in the third quarter, however, their effort was not enough to bring the margin into single digits at the end of the third quarter. Fighting for a final, for the first time of the club history, Banvit finally managed to shut down offensive weapons of Anadolu Efes and made a great comeback. The last seconds however, not without controversy. The decisive whistle came when Kerem Tunceri made a three-pointer attempt and fouled. The verdict, however, was two free throws instead of three in the final seconds. That decision kept Efes 2 points away from Banvit and eventually 73:71 win, meant a victory for the visitors who carried the series to the decisive 5th match at Bandirma.
Although Orhun Ene, head coach of Banvit admitted that the whistle was wrong, Anadolu Efes side was furious with the referees and today, GM Engin Özerhun called the day as ” a black page for refereeing”.
