This one will probably be closer than most folks think, if only because Great Britain tends to produce a great second-half run to make things interesting. Can they close? No. But they’ll make some highlight clips. Meanwhile, BiE is just stoked about seeing Enes Kanter, always great to see. Follow the action with BallinEurope live blogging from Panevezys below the break and enjoy the game!
First quarter. Good point by my Lithuanian compadre: If Turkey loses today, it really won’t matter in all likelihood, as Turkey vs. Lithuania would appear to be the key game in this group.
8:37: Omer Onan opens scoring from the floor with a three. Early Turkey lead, 3-1.
6.53: BiE’s wondering if any besides the “big four” will score for the Brits today … a Tunceri three makes it 7-1. Turkey is going to want to pull way ahead early in this one.
6.15: Deng’s first points come from the line with two FTs. Turkey, 7-3.
5.46: Since when did Turkey become bombers? Emir Preldzic throws down a long ball. 10-3.
5.25: Onan with *another* three. Omer Asik and Ersan Ilyasova haven’t even had to get involved yet on the inside — neither has seen the ball at this point. Big 13-3 lead for Turkey.
5.10: There’s Asik’s first touch: A foul of Joel Freeland, who hits one of two FTs. Turkey, 13-3.
3.47: Ilyasova with the 20-foot jumper. Team Britain was not expecting this style of play from the Giant Men, for sure. This is chased with Asik’s revenge on Freeland — turnaround jumper and one. Turkey by an American football score of 17-3.
1.20: Deng comes out and Britain is running with a tiny lineup. That’s not gonna stop the outside shooting from Turkey…
0.00: Turkey 22, Britain 10. Gotta love the strategy devised by coach Orhun Ene here, bringing Britain “something completely different” than Chris Finch’s expectations and figuring they can dominate the inside game at will once they switch over to the typical Turkish grind-it-out game. Deng has been a complete non-factor, as his men as simply not getting the ball.
Second quarter. 9.36: Preldzic with a baseline jumper. Still not one dunk, near-dunk or hook shot from Turkey.
9.06: Spoke (blogged?) too soon: Kanter takes it strong to the hole after a rebound, gets fouled, sinks both FTs. Turkey, 26-12.
8.17: Preldzic again with the outside shot. 31-12 to Turkey. A second-half spurt will be irrelevant at this rate.
7.07: Kanter has become a sacrificial lamb, continuously bruising it up inside to draw fouls. He’s now 4-of-4 from the line. Turkey, 33-12.
6.20: Smooth jumper by last night’s revelation, Nate Reinking. Together with Deng and Mike Lenzly, they’re playing that one-dimensional British game: These three have all the points for the side.
4.55: Kanter beats Clark for the dunk, gets the and one, sinks it, 40-16 Turkey.
2.55: Asik draws another foul on Freeland and the switching up back to the big man’s game seems to be in effect now. 42-18, Turkey.
1.39: After two FTs sunk, Deng now has 13 of Britain’s 22 points. Did BiE say “one-dimensional”? That dimension *is* Deng right now. And the dude looks tired.
1.05: Why are they playing “Benny Hill Theme” as the players return to the floor after a timeout? As a tribute to England?
0.00: At half, it’s 44-26 and whoa, has Finch got to be disappointed with his charges in this one thus far. The British squad is shooting just 29% overall (9-of-31) with Deng 4-of-10 and over half the total points at 15. Britain simply has no answers as they play Turkey’s game. This side is known for adjustments and second-half energy? They’ll need it in the next 20 minutes.
Third quarter. 9.10: Already the Turks are emphasizing the inside game and Asik draws a foul underneath the basket for the team’s first point of the half. 45-26, Turkey.
8.05: Kanter throws down a jam in transition after Turkey forces the Brits to run out the 24-second clock. Turkey, 47-26.
6.09: Deng is keeping Britain alive (relatively). In the lane for two. 49-33, Turkey.
Fourth quarter: 9.01: Turkey still rolling and Kanter serves up a vicious block.
Sorry, folks, bit of a technical difficulty there … no matter, Turkey won decisively — final score 90-61, and has looked good against competition that has been, let’s say, not up to their level, i.e. Portugal and Britain. We’ll be back for Lithuania vs. Poland at 8pm CET.
