Sweden upset Turkey to claim first win in front of record-breaking crowd

STOCKHOLM (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - A record crowd of 7,500 spectators in the Swedish capital Stockholm cheered on their favorites to a historic 59-58 victory over European powerhouse Turkey in Group B on Friday evening.

It was the first win for Sweden in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers campaign after close defeats against Ukraine and Latvia in previous games, while Turkey had gone unbeaten to this point.

Turning point: The hosts led by 13 points at 58-45 midway through the fourth quarter, but a 10-0 run by the visitors meant the game was up for grabs in the final minutes and Melih Mahmutoglu's three-pointer inside the final minute got the Turks within one. Despite the fourth-quarter collapse and a flurry of turnovers in the last minute of the game, Sweden held on to the victory after Sertac Sanli missed a potential game-winner from mid-range.

Game hero: Nick Spires had a great two-way performance for Sweden, collecting a team-high 16 points and 6 rebounds, while also handing out 6 blocks, the best individual performance by any player in the European Qualifiers.

Stats don't lie: Turkey paid a steep price for not taking advantage of opportunities at the free-throw stripe, making just 10 of their 20 attempts. The 69.2 percent conversion rate by Sweden was ultimately what swung the advantage their way in a one-point game.

Bottom line: The result shook up the situation in the Group B standings, with the Ufuk Sarica-coached Turkish national team now sharing the top spot with Ukraina with identical 2-1 records, with Sweden and Latvia just one game behind at 1-2.

They said: "Tough game. We knew it was going to be a tough game coming into this. I think the main thing that we did during the whole game was play tough defense 100 percent. That's what helped us win this one." - Sweden big man Nicholas Spires.

"I think this is one of our best games that we have played over the past couple of years, defensively. We played against a very good team, who I respect a lot. They have a lot of good players there. I want to thank my players for following the game plan and staying focused from the first minute to the very end. It's a big, historic win. You don't beat Turkey, especially this Turkey, every day. And for us in Sweden, that's a big for our basketball. We need to continue doing good things. These players need a lot of respect from all the people in the country. Thanks to the fans, who were our sixth player with all the energy they provided. It was a high-energy game and we left a lot of it on the floor during the 40 minutes." - Sweden head coach Vedran Bosnic.

"I would like to congratulate Sweden for a hard-fought victory. We allowed Sweden to get their rhythm tonight. We waited too late to start to play the way we want to play and I think we lost the game at the free-throw line." - Turkey guard Ali Muhammed.

FIBA