February 10, 2012
World Championships eighthfinals: September 5
September 5: Turkey 95-77 France, Slovenia 87-58 Australia

Sinan Guler - Turkey (Photo: FIBA.com)Turkey romped on the way to an impressive victory over France, 95-77, on Sunday at the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Istanbul. Turkey used a 16-0 run that bridged the second and third quarters to take a 25-point advantage en route to the win. The host nation next faces Slovenia in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Hedo Turkoglu paced Turkey with 20 points, while Sinan Guler of Efes Pilsen came off the bench to score 17 points in 18 minutes. Omer Asik added 10 points for the winners. Boris Diaw led France with 21 points, Power Electronics Valencia guard Nando De Colo scored 15 and Nicolas Batum had 11 in defeat. Turkey was in control early, riding the fans’ energy to excellent defense and taking a 5-0 lead after a Hedo Turkoglu triple. However Turkey cooled off and soon France found its feet and eventually took a 7-8 lead after De Colo sniped a three-pointer. The hosts regained the lead as Fenerbahce Ulker guard Omer Onan scored and was fouled in transition and then Turkoglu nailed a second three. France kept it close for a few minutes as De Colo scored again, but Ender Arslan of Efes Pilsen’s steal and layup helped Turkey take a 19-14 lead after 10 minutes. Diaw further narrowed the gap at the onset of the second quarter, however Turkey answered through three reserves – Kerem Gonlum, Guler and Arslan – to take a 26-16 lead. Guler, also an Efes player, continued to shine with determined drives to the hoop. FB Ulker center Oguz Savas converted a three-point play and added two more scores in a 6-0 finish to the half for a 43-28 cushion at halftime. Things went from bad to worse for France as the second half began. First Turkoglu connected on back-to-back three-pointers. Then Ian Mahinmi fouled out trying to stop Asik down low before Onan’s layup capped a 16-0 run that bridged the halves and gave the hosts a 25-point advantage. France’s leading scorer in the tournament, Batum, finally scored his first basket and France’s first of the half nearly three minutes into the third quarter. Asik further extended Turkey’s cushion to 27 to the delight of the fans. Turkey received a scare when Kerem Tunceri limped off with a turned ankle. In the meantime France closed to within 62-41 as Virtus Roma’s Ali Traore scored inside and Diaw hit from outside. Alas Turkey recovered and an Asik tip-in gave the hosts a 71-45 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Turkey boosted the lead to 28 before triples from De Colo and Diaw made it 82-60. Guler erased any doubts about the outcome with a triple and soon left the floor to a standing ovation as Turkey enjoyed the closing minutes of an impressive victory.



Jaka Lakovic - Slovenia (Photo FIBA.com)Slovenia dominated Australia from start to finish on Sunday to beat Australia 87-58, registering its fourth straight win at the World Championships and securing a berth in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Regal FC Barcelona guard and defending Euroleague champion Jaka Lakovic paced the Slovenian attack with 19 points, making 5 of 11 three pointers and single-handedly outshooting Australia, which was 2 of 19 from downtown. Primoz Brezec added 12 points and Goran Dragic produced 10 points and 8 assists for the winners. Patty Mills and Joe Ingles paced the Boomers with 13 points each and Olympiacos big man Matt Nielsen tallied 12 points and 8 rebounds. Slovenia dominated early, striking first on a three-pointer from Lakovic and adding to the lead through Brezec. Australia had no answers at either end, with All-Euroleague center Aleks Maric even uncharacteristically missing a dunk. Dragic drilled a triple to cap a 12-0 start for Slovenia before Ingles made a layup on the counter-attack, giving the Boomers their first points after more than six-and-a-half minutes of play. The momentum remained with Australia as Nielsen and Mills closed the gap. A pair of free throws from Sani Becirovic put Slovenia up 16-8 after 10 minutes. Becirovic hit a triple early in the second quarter as the Slovenian lead reached double figures once more. Lakovic followed from downtown and later big men Uros Slokar and Spartak St. Petersburg’s Miha Zupan stretched the lead even more. It reached 19 points on a Brezec slam late in the half before Maric made a free throw and Mills a layup. Still Slovenia ended the half in style as a Lakovic triple made it 42-21. Former All-Euroleague selection David Andersen and Nielsen showed spark for the Aussies at the start of the second half only to see Efes Pilsen forward Bostjan Nachbar catch fire with 7 quick points, helping the Slovenia lead reach 26. It reached 68-40 on a Zupan triple late in the quarter before settling at 71-45 after three quarters. There was no big comeback run from Australia waiting as Slovenia pushed its lead to 35 on a Jaka Klobucar free throw, which also ensured that all of head coach Memi Becirovic’s players scored en route to a convincing win.
Sunday, September 05, 2010
Euroleague.net
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