Bahçehisar saw off Cayirova Belediyesi 84-76 in the Turkish Super League on Sunday, a result that flipped the script on expectations. The visitors, sitting third in the table with 21 wins from 30 matches, ground out the win against a home side that had been competitive in recent outings. We'd given a home win at 68 per cent confidence, but the match went another way — and it was the visitors' precision from deep that shifted things.
Cayirova started brighter, building momentum through their defence. They held the ball tighter, committing just six turnovers compared to Bahçehisar's 13. But to be fair, the visitors found their rhythm when it mattered. Their nine three-pointers from 26 attempts — a percentage Cayirova couldn't match — turned tight moments into leads. The home side's six from twenty simply wasn't enough when the game tightened.
What stood out was the free-throw disparity. Bahçehisar converted 19 of 21 attempts, while Cayirova managed 16 from 26. That gap — five points from the line — proved decisive. And here's the thing, it's not always the flashiest statistic that decides matches. Free throws under pressure reveal composure, and the visitors showed more of it when the score was close.
Rebounding told a different story. Cayirova grabbed 27 boards to Bahçehisar's 33, but the away side's 18 assists versus 11 suggested better ball movement. The visitors' five blocks also disrupted Cayirova's interior game, forcing more perimeter shots — ones they struggled to convert.
The result keeps Bahçehisar in third place, maintaining their hold on the upper tier. Cayirova, meanwhile, extend a run of mixed results that includes heavy defeats to Galatasaray and losses to smaller opposition. The visitors had beaten Fenerbahçe in mid-September and held their own against Istanbul's giants — this win slots into that pattern. By then, the gap between the sides felt less about talent and more about execution when it counted.
