ISTANBUL (EuroLeague Women) – If Fenerbahce have proved anything this season in women’s basketball, it’s this.
The Istanbul giants sure know how to make the headlines.
The big-spenders have signed many of the best players in the game the past several months and gone undefeated in the EuroLeague Women.
Along the way, the outfit has lost a couple of icons: Diana Taurasi and Penny Taylor.
USA superstar Taurasi had her contract terminated by Fenerbahce earlier this month after testing positive for a banned substance and Taylor, Australia’s 2006 FIBA World Championship MVP, decided to go over the weekend.
After several days of speculation that Taylor had left, Fenerbahce made an announcement about her departure late Wednesday afternoon before their game against UMMC Ekaterinburg.
Basketball Australia also issued a statement on Taylor, including remarks by the player.
The Basketball Australia statement said:
Australian Opals star Penny Taylor has decided to leave the current European Basketball season early and will return home to Melbourne this week.
Taylor, who has been playing for club Fenerbahce in the highly regarded EuroLeague, has cited personal reasons, including a family illness, for taking a break from the game.
She said: "I have loved playing for such a proud club with such passionate fans. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with Fenerbahce, and regret that I must leave to address some personal issues in my life. I have therefore made the difficult decision that these things must take priority over basketball at this time."
Taylor was arguably the best player in the EuroLeague Women this season.
She added in the statement: "I know that the quality of the players on the team combined with the fighting spirit of the club will see their successful season continue, and I wish the players and the club the greatest success."
Fenerbahce are not short of talent.
Before the Christmas break, the club paid a transfer fee to MKB Euroleasing Sopron to acquire Angel McCoughtry, a member of Geno Auriemma's title-winning side at last year's FIBA World Championship for Women in the Czech Republic.
The club this week announced the arrival of Latvian Anete Jekabsone-Zogota from Sparta&K M.R. Vidnoje.
Fener already had many of Turkey's national team players like Nevriye Yilmaz.
In addition to bringing in Taurasi from four-time defending EuroLeague Women champions Sparta&K M.R. Vidnoje last summer, they added Serbian center Ivana Matovic, Hungary international Anna Vajda and Czech Republic guard Hana Horakova, the MVP of last year's World Championship.
Still, the loss of two high-profile players like Taurasi and Taylor is not what the club had wanted.
After several days of speculation that Taylor had left, the club finally put a media release about her departure on its website, www.fenerbahce.org.
It read:
Penny Taylor didn't want to believe the doping control results of Diana Taurasi, who is one of the best women basketball players in the world. Penny Taylor believes that she played an important role in Diana Taurasi's transfer (from Sparta&K to Fenerbahce) and when she learned that Diana had forbidden substances in her urine, she felt responsible for that.
In the Caferağa Arena, after the game between Fenerbahçe and Beºiktaº CT, the staff responsible for the doping control randomly chose Penny's name for her to give (urine) samples but she refused to be tested.
The managers and directors of Fenerbahçe reminded her a couple of times that unless she took the test, she would have a fine. Finally our managers convinced her; but she wanted her test to be made in a laboratory in Köln, Germany. This situation was shared with the Turkish Basketball Federation and then she agreed to give a sample which was sent to the laboratory in Köln.
Penny Taylor thought that Diana Taurasi, who has played alongside her in the WNBA for the Phoenix Mercury, received unwarranted actions and judged unfairly. She thought that the same could happen to her, which is why she didn't want to go to the away game against Botaº and she decided to end her Fenerbahçe career.
One more time our directors and managers convinced her and she agreed to go to the away game against Botaº. After this game, although the Australian player played against Lotos Gdynia in the EuroLeague game on Thursday 13th January 2011, without any justified reason she didn't attend the practice on Monday 17 January and returned to the USA.
Despite the turmoil, Fenerbahce have coped well and it’s not surprising when considering the team still has as much talent as any other side in Europe.
Last summer, in addition to Taurasi, the club brought in Serbian Ivana Matovic, Hungary international Anna Vajda and 2010 FIBA World Championship for Women MVP, Hana Horakova of the Czech Republic.
While Fener have lost Taurasi and Taylor, the club has signed USA international Angel McCoughtry after paying a transfer fee to her club, MKB Euroleasing Sopron, and only this week, Latvia international Anete Jekabsone-Zogota joined after parting ways with Sparta&K M.R. Vidnoje.
There are also the Turkish national team players in the side that coach Laszlo Ratgeber calls “the heart” of his team.
Fenerbahce remained the only undefeated side in the EuroLeague Women by completing a season sweep of UMMC Ekaterinburg on Wednesday.
Ratgeber's side improved to 10-0 in Group B with an 82-75 triumph.
“Tonight we won because of our heart but if we want to achieve a really historical result for Fenerbahce - to reach the Final Four - we need to play a lot better,” Ratgeber said.
FIBA
