NEWCASTLE (Paul Nilsen's Women's Basketball Worldwide) - When the two best domestic leagues in Europe are both decided in the dying seconds of a fifth and decisive Championship series it acts as a tremendous advert for women’s basketball.

The competitiveness in Turkey is particularly astonishing and I could not take my eyes off a quite brilliant roller-coaster as juggernauts Fenerbahce who were pipped 3-2 by their noisy neighbors Yakin Dogu Universitesi.

This series had absolutely everything, including emotions getting out of control away from the court with courtside brawl between club officials and it was kind of inevitable it would boil down to one of the most dramatic outcomes.

Having moved 2-0 ahead in the series, Yakin Dogu looked well placed to take a historic maiden title, but Fenerbahce not only levelled at 2-0, they fought back from a double-digit deficit during game five and were two possessions ahead with around a minute remaining.

Considering the upheaval of parting ways with George Dikeoulakos on the eve of EuroLeague Women Final Four and appointing Firat Okul, it would have shown huge resilience to have seen it out. Only they didn’t.

Kayla McBride has had a jaw-dropping campaign and she donned her cape and rescued Yakin Dogu in a big way, with a couple of clutch plays. They both came prior to Quanitra Hollingsworth scoring what proved to be the winning basket against her former club as the script became even more dramatic. Yet there was still time for one more crazy twist.

It had looked Hollingsworth might have turned from hero to villain when she fouled Candace Parker with two seconds remaining, but the USA star didn’t win the series for Fenerbahce, or even force overtime as she missed them both. 

Some people took significant pleasure in that fact and dreaded outcome for Fenerbahce, having resented them for parachuting Parker into Istanbul for the business end of the season. I was not one of them by the way. I simply stand by the fact that I said before she bounced a ball and that was her being a great player but very much a 4-3 and not a small forward.

Fenerbahce won nothing with Parker and that is not the entire reason by the way, just a contributing factor. It was the right player, but for the wrong position and at the wrong time.

As for Yakin Dogu, I can’t praise them enough. Sure, they have come into possession of a massive budget, but that has never guaranteed any basketball club success – or any sports team for that matter. You still must do the business and to finish with a treble of the Turkish Cup, EuroCup Women and the KBSL Play-Off title is genuinely amazing. I only hope it will be a long-term project and congratulations to all involved.

This series was so gripping and a fantastic advert for the women’s game and it also followed on from a similarly compelling Russian Premier League match-up between Dynamo Kursk and UMMC Ekaterinburg which was also decided deep into game five.

Only a USA basketball star in Diana Taurasi was the game-winner in that series as she poured in 33 points to seal the deal for UMMC Ekaterinburg. It was highly entertaining and had similar parallels to the Turkish series. A new kid on the silverware block in Dynamo Kursk [who won EuroLeague Women for the first time] against an established powerhouse like UMMC.

In this series, UMMC did bounce back from their Final Four disappointment and showed the mental fortitude to get the job done as Taurasi did the business in a thrilling conclusion as UMMC completed a 83-82 game five success.

It was also super to see players from not only the States, but also Europe contributing - those such as Emma Meesseman of Belgium and Nika Baric of Slovenia who will both debut at EuroBasket Women Final Round next month.

To have the two best leagues in Europe concluded like this underlines that women’s basketball does have so much to offer. Of course, I would say this wouldn't I? Well, not necessarily, since most regular readers of my column will know that I have been critical of some aspects of the women’s game in the past.

But, as club basketball [outside of the WNBA] generally hands over the baton to the international season, I think we need to really soak up what happened in Turkey and Russia.

Even as a convert, I am thrilled that women’s basketball has again demonstrated it has athletes who can provide this level of intensity, entertainment, excitement and drama.

A sincere thanks to all involved. It was a pleasure to watch and follow!

Paul Nilsen

FIBA

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