ANKARA (2010 FIBA World Championship) – Turkey saw off Russia 65-56 in front of more than 10,000 fans at Ankara Arena to stay undefeated in Group C of the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

Both teams had the hot hand early as the game looked more like a three-point shootout. The score was tied at nine with all points coming from behind the arc.

Both teams eventually cooled off, particularly David Blatt’s men who made only three of 16 attempts from two-point range in the first half and didn’t find their range until late in the game with Turkey holding a double-digit lead.

Andrey Vorontsevich hit a tough shot in the lane to put Russia up 14-11 but the hosts got in front by accounting for the last five of the first quarter.

Ender Arslan connected twice from downtown as Turkey extended their advantage to 25-16.

Sinan Guler buried a three-pointer from the corner as Bogdan Tanjevic’s men took a 33-22 lead at the break.

The Russians went on a 6-0 spurt – capped off by Sasha Kaun’s thunderous dunk – to get within 33-28 early in the third quarter.

The Turks though pulled away once more with Omer Asik and Hidayet Turkoglu knocking down timely baskets.

Semih Erden then flipped up a shot with his back to the basket and completed a three-point play as the hosts went into the final frame with a 48-37 advantage.

Russia’s struggles were best illustrated by Sergey Monya blowing a straightforward looking dunk and Sergey Bykov missing a lay-up from point blank range.

Monya made up for his miss by hitting a three-pointer and Vitaliy Fridzon added one of his own to cut the deficit to 57-49, before Turkoglu re-established a double-digit lead for his team to put the game beyond reach.

Quotes:

Bogdan Tanjevic (Turkey head coach): “This game was similar to the one against the Ivory Coast. We played this game like a surgeon: operating slowly and carefully. I think we spread our energy well throughout the game and got a good result.”

Hedo Turkoglu (Turkey forward): “Our target was set from the beginning: take it game game by game. We worked hard. Coach said that every ball, every score and every second is important. We played hard until the last second. I know I made a couple of stupid mistakes all around. It was a good game for us and I am happy to win. Tomorrow we are going to relax but also keep on training. The day after (Tuesday) we will be competing in order to top the group. All in all, I am happy with tonight’s game.”

David Blatt (Russia head coach): “This was a hard-fought game and I think from our perspective we had a bad second quarter and could not come back. My guys played hard and played good defense but it’s hard against the Turkish team and their crowd. We faced a really strong Turkish team and we made bad decisions at the key points of the game.”

Sasha Kaun (Russia centre): “We played hard, good and smart but our second quarter was bad and it was hard to come back from that. We put pressure on ourselves, we tried to come back but couldn’t do it. We hope to come back strong in the next game.”


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The time has come

Turkey has been preparing for this tournament since 2004. For six years everything has been done with a focus on the 2010 FIBA World Championship. Nine years ago, the country hosted Eurobasket 2001 and went on to take the silver medal. 2010 is seen as a turning point in Turkey’s fortunes in international competitions. Will all the hard work, agony and patience be rewarded?

Turkey is a country that is emotionally-driven by sports. The heart is usually superior to the mind. Obviously, that strategy has its advantages and disadvantages. When emotions run high, unfathomable goals can be reached and unimaginable things can occur. The downside is when emotions run the other way, with sulking and disintegration on the cards. The main characteristic aspect of Turkish national teams has always been the emotional status. That's why they're usually unpredictable. Turkey is like a snowball on the top of a mountain. If you push it down, it will stick to all the snow and turn into an avalanche…or alternatively it can stay there on the mountain top only to be melted by the morning sun.

Well what better way to enhance your emotional prowess than to play in front of your adoring fans where one small play can result in a frenzy? If you want an example, look no further than Eurobasket 2001, which Turkey hosted. They started real slow, needing overtime to beat Latvia, losing to Slovenia in the group stage before roaring back with two incredible comeback wins over Croatia and Germany, which are still fresh in the memory. In fact, they still seem unreal to this day. It is impossible to explain those wins only in basketball terms. Turkey played with the most effective performance enhancer of all time – an emotional high.

Turkey has been working to host the 2010 FIBA World Championship since 2004. Bogdan Tanjevic was chosen as Turkey’s head coach back then looking ahead to this event. The subsequent Eurobasket 2005 and 2007 squads were chosen with 2010 always in mind. This FIBA World Championship is seen as a turning point for Turkish basketball just like 2001 proved to be. The emotional effect of having home court advantage and playing in front of partisan fans is the biggest thing Turkey relies on.

But the home crowd super effect aside, the outlook doesn't look very bright for Turkey in a basketball sense. Turkish teams sank to an all-time low in European competitions last season and players abroad didn't have the best of seasons either. The National Team is suffering, particularly in the backcourt. Playmakers Kerem Tunçeri and Ender Arslan had mediocre seasons. Engin Atsür had a breakout performance but is still just a back-up at this point. Where Turkey suffers the most is on the wings. The basketball tradition in the country has produced dead-eye shooters for the past 30 years, but the well has dried up. Cenk Akyol never blossomed into the scorer people expected him to be while Omer Onan, Sinan Güler and Evren Büker are good players but limited offensively.

Actually, among the outside players, the only 'point-producer' is Hidayet Turkoglu who had a dismal season with the Toronto Raptors. Turkey hope that home court advantage will rejuvenate the players to a point where they will banish memories of the 2009-10 season. The frontcourt is loaded but it has its own problems too. Mehmet Okur of the Utah Jazz will not play after tearing his Achilles tendon while Kerem Gönlüm has served a doping suspension, but last played a competitive basketball game in June 2009. Rising star Ömer Aşık broke his collarbone and then had a contract dispute with his team and has not played since December of last year.

Nevertheless, Turkey have been waiting for this since 2004. Everyone is excited, everyone has high expectations and everyone is ready to explode. A tiny bit of hope, one play, one push down the mountain is all it takes. Turkey is ready to roll – and has been ready to do so for six years.