Basketball

Iverson scores 15 points, loses in Turkish debut

Allen Iverson, a former NBA MVP and all-star, scored 15 points in his debut for Turkish club Besiktas Cola Turka.

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Even with the 6-1 basketball powerhouse, Besiktas failed to hold off a furious comeback by opponent Hemofarm Stada.

Hemofarm of Serbia stormed back from 15 points down to defeat hometown Besiktas 94-91 in a Euro Cup game on Tuesday in Istanbul, Turkey.

Clearly rusty and trying to acclimate himself to the situation, the 35-year old Iverson still had a few chances to push his new club to a opening night win in the final minutes.

With a 1:44 remaining and Besiktas trying to stave off a comeback, Iverson hit a difficult three-pointer and was fouled in the act.  Iverson converted the free throw to put his team up 91-84.

Besiktas wouldn’t score again while Hemofarm would go on to hit three consecutive threes in the last 1:44.

With his team down three, Iverson would have a chance to tie the game, but his three point attempt just came up short.

Even so, Turkish fans supported the star player by shouting “Allen Iverson, the son of Besiktas Cola Turka” all throughout the match.

When no NBA contract offers came in, Iverson agreed to a $4 million, two-year contract with Besiktas.

Iverson has scored 24,368 points over his 14-year NBA career with the Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies. He is an 11-time NBA All-Star and won the league’s Most Valuable Player award in 2001.

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