Stationed in Lithuania, it’s BallinEurope’s Y. with his brief synopsis on France versus Turkey. Without further ado, here are his notes!
Another great game at Eurobasket 2011, as France met Turkey today for a crucial game – but isn’t every single one? – in Group E.
Turkey started the game off with a eight-point run, behind six points from Ömer Onan, but France quickly managed to get within one possession and finish the quarter down just 14-12.
A very good defensive effort continued in the second quarter, as France took a one-point lead at the 5:30 mark. Later, shots by Nicolas Batum and Florent Pietrus gave France some breathing space, as their team led by five. The Turks couldn’t deliver a prompt answer and were down 31-27 at halftime.
In the third, France finally managed to give Turkey a push, thanks to their poor offensive execution, winning the quarter by 13.
In the final 10 minutes neither team could hit anything, combining for 12 points in 6 minutes. recover. Open missed threes and turnovers by Turkey allowed the French to stay in front. Hedo Turkoglu and Ersan Ilyasova tried to rally their team, which got as close as 63-61 with 35.7 seconds to go, but Kerem Tunceri missed an open three and France prevailed, 68-64.
France is now firmly atop of the group at 3-0, while Turkey dropped to 1-2. Tony Parker led Les Bleus with 20 points, while Turkoglu with 13 was high scorer on the Turkish side.
