We Speak International Sports

Castrol Returns as Euroleague Basketball Official Partner in Turkiye for Two Seasons

Published

1 hour ago

November 10, 2026

Lonnie Walker, number 4, in a white Besiktas Istanbul jersey dribbling the ball and pointing during the EuroLeague game at Virtus Bologna

Lonnie Walker IV, #4 of Besiktas Istanbul, in action during the EuroLeague Regular Season Round 9 game against Virtus Bologna at PalaDozza, Bologna, Italy, on 30 October 2026. Photo by Francesco Malpensi/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images.

Castrol is back on the Euroleague Basketball partner roster in Turkiye, a key market where six Turkish teams compete across the EuroLeague and BKT EuroCup this season and where television audiences grew sharply last season.

Castrol, one of the world’s leading lubricant brands, has entered into a new partnership with Euroleague Basketball. Under the agreement, Castrol will become an Official Partner in Turkiye for the EuroLeague and BKT EuroCup for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons.

The partnership was announced at a special event held in Istanbul, attended by Gawain Davies, Chief Commercial Officer of Euroleague Basketball; Cansu Tac Ekmekciler, Marketing Director for Castrol Turkiye, Ukraine and Central Asia; and EuroLeague Ambassador, İbrahim Kutluay.

Under the two-season agreement, Castrol will join the Euroleague Basketball commercial partner portfolio in the automotive oil and fuel category, further strengthening its association with two of Europe’s leading professional basketball competitions and their passionate fanbases. The relationship between Castrol and Euroleague Basketball first began in 2021 and continued across successive seasons through 2024-25.

Gawain Davies, Chief Commercial Officer of Euroleague Basketball, commented on the partnership: “We are pleased to see Castrol back in the Euroleague Basketball commercial partner portfolio. Turkiye is a key market for European basketball, with a passionate fanbase and a strong connection to both the EuroLeague and the BKT EuroCup. This partnership reflects the value of our competitions as a platform for brands to connect with fans and strengthen their presence in the market. We look forward to working together over the next two seasons.”

As part of the partnership, Castrol will be associated with both the EuroLeague and BKT EuroCup, creating opportunities to engage with basketball fans through digital platforms, media ecosystem and content, as well as through extensive brand visibility at the home games of Turkish teams participating in the competitions.

Cansu Tac Ekmekciler, Marketing Director for Castrol Türkiye, Ukraine and Central Asia, expressed her excitement about the partnership: “Basketball has a very strong culture in Turkiye and an audience that continues to grow. The level Euroleague Basketball has reached in Turkiye and the strong bond it has built with basketball fans also create an extremely valuable platform for brands.

At Castrol, performance, power and continuous improvement are at the heart of our world. Basketball, with its high tempo, competitive intensity and the need to deliver peak performance at every moment, aligns very naturally with this approach. With Castrol EDGE, data plays an important role in understanding performance and continuously improving our products. In elite basketball, players and teams follow a similar journey. Analyzing performance, identifying areas for improvement and constantly pushing the limits. This shared focus on performance and continuous improvement creates a strong link between Castrol EDGE and Euroleague Basketball.

The figures clearly demonstrate this growth as well. EuroLeague’s TV viewership audience in Turkiye grew by 30% last season, while EuroLeague’s global total television audience exceeded 1.2 billion. During the same period, more than 3.46 million basketball fans watched games in arenas.

This demonstrates the strong scale EuroLeague has achieved both in Turkiye and across Europe.

Following our previous collaboration with Euroleague Basketball, we are delighted to be back on the same court and to connect with basketball fans in Turkiye over the next two seasons.”

A total of six Turkish teams are competing in Euroleague Basketball’s two competitions during the 2026-27 season. Anadolu Efes Istanbul, Besiktas Istanbul and Fenerbahce Tarfin Istanbul compete in the EuroLeague, while Bahcesehir College Istanbul, Tofas Bursa and Turk Telekom Ankara compete in the BKT EuroCup.

The partnership between Castrol and Euroleague Basketball will contribute to the growing presence of the EuroLeague and BKT EuroCup in Turkiye, while further strengthening Castrol’s connection with basketball fans across the country.

About Castrol

A pioneer in lubricant technology and innovation, Castrol has been operating for 125 years globally and for 67 years in Turkiye, developing advanced-technology lubricants that deliver high performance under demanding conditions.

Present across five continents and 140 countries, Castrol manages operations in 10 countries from its Istanbul headquarters in Turkiye. With brands including Castrol MAGNATEC, Castrol EDGE, Castrol VECTON, Castrol CRB Turbomax and Castrol POWER1, the company produces lubricants for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and motorcycles, as well as for the industrial, marine, aviation and energy sectors.

Through joint engineering programs with leading vehicle manufacturers around the world, Castrol serves as the factory-fill lubricant for leading automotive brands. One of Castrol’s eight production facilities in Europe and Africa is located in Gemlik, Turkiye, and lubricants produced at the facility are exported to 24 countries.

Castrol develops lubricants that have been at the heart of technological achievements on land, in the air, at sea and even in space. Castrol has also played a role in 21 World Land Speed Records. NASA has relied on Castrol technology since the 1960s, including on the Perseverance Rover sent to Mars in 2020.

About Euroleague Basketball

Euroleague Basketball (EB) is a global leader in the sports and entertainment business, devoted to running the top European competitions of professional basketball clubs under a unique and innovative organizational model. Owned and administered by some of the most successful and historic clubs in the world, EB manages the continent’s two premier men’s basketball competitions, the EuroLeague and the BKT EuroCup, as well as the sport’s premier under-18 showcase, the adidas NextGen EuroLeague.

The EB competitions bring the elite of European basketball to all five continents and to the entire sports community through the OTT platform EuroLeague TV. EB also organizes a series of community and educational activities, led by the One Team program, in alignment with the United Nations Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. On the academic side, the EB Sports Business MBA trains future professionals in sports management.

We Speak International Sports

Nadir Hifi Earns First Career EuroLeague Round MVP With 39 PIR In Paris Win At Efes

Published

2 days ago

November 8, 2026

We Speak Media

Nadir Hifi in his Paris Basketball jersey during the win at Anadolu Efes

Nadir Hifi of Paris Basketball. Photo via EuroLeague.

Paris Basketball went into Istanbul and came out with a statement road win, and Nadir Hifi was the reason — a career first Round MVP performance built on 28 points, nine assists and a round best 39 PIR against Anadolu Efes.

A stunning individual performance in a big road victory allowed Nadir Hifi of Paris Basketball to earn Regular Season Round 10 MVP honors with a PIR of 39.

The Paris star produced a round-best PIR of 39 to lead his team to victory in Istanbul.

Hifi led Paris to a 90-95 road victory over Anadolu Efes Istanbul with 28 points on 6-of-9 two-pointers, 3-of-5 three-pointers and 7-of-7 free throws, adding six rebounds, nine assists and seven fouls drawn for a PIR of 39, the highest in Round 10. Hifi earned MVP of the Round honors for the first time in his career, and became the third Paris player to get it, after TJ Shorts (four times, plus 2025 play-in MVP) and Justin Robinson.

Elijah Bryant of Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv had a PIR of 35 in his team’s 90-93 home loss against FC Barcelona. He led his team with 25 points on 5-of-7 two-pointers, 1-of-3 three-pointers and 12-of-12 free throws, three rebounds, an assist and 12 fouls drawn, a new EuroLeague season-high.

Austin Wiley of FC Bayern Munich amassed a PIR of 32 in his team’s 95-99 road victory over LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne. He had 22 points on 8-of-9 two-pointers and 6-of-8 free throws, nine rebounds, two assists, three blocks and four fouls drawn.

Kendrick Nunn of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, with a PIR of 31, and his teammate Mathias Lessort, who reached a PIR of 30, complete the top individual performances in Round 10. Nunn led Panathinaikos to a 112-115 overtime road win over Real Madrid with 33 points on 8-of-8 two-pointers, 3-of-5 three-pointers and 8-of-8 free throws in less than 24 minutes. Lessort had 20 points on 8-of-10 two-pointers and 4-of-4 free throws, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Individual highs: Kenneth Faried of Baskonia, 15 rebounds

Nunn and Cameron Payne of Efes were this week’s top scorers with 33 points against Real and Paris, respectively. Hifi leads the overall standings at 22.1 points per game.

Kenneth Faried of Kosner Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz grabbed 15 rebounds, a new EuroLeague season-high, in his team’s 84-65 road loss against Fenerbahce Tarfin Istanbul. Jonas Valanciunas of Zalgiris Kaunas ranks first overall at 8.4 rebounds per night.

Hifi was first in assists, dishing nine against Efes. Carlik Jones of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade leads the overall standings at 6.0 assists per game.

Dan Oturu of Hapoel had five steals, more than anyone in Round 10. Luca Vildoza of Partizan keeps leading everyone at 1.9 steals per night.

Wiley and Lamar Stevens of Partizan each had three blocks to lead this week’s ranking. Aliou Diarra of Virtus is the competition’s top shot blocker at 2.0 per night.

Five players registered a double-double in this round: Faried (10 points, 15 rebounds), Jonas Valanciunas of Zalgiris Kaunas (12 points, 11 rebounds), Jordan Nwora of Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (18 points, 13 rebounds), Josh Nebo of FC Barcelona (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Bruno Fernando of Efes (14 points, 10 rebounds).