Sengun shines, as Turkey move to 3-1 in Group A

TBILISI (Georgia) - Turkey's effort on defense was up to par as the 12 Giant Men built a substantial lead early on and defeated Belgium by the score of 78-63 in Group A action in Tbilisi.

The Belgian Lions never quit and were as close as 12 points late in the third quarter, yet couldn't cut the deficit to single digits.

 
Turning point: Turkey used all of Belgium's struggles on offense to quickly leave them in the dust. With the score 26-9 early in the second quarter, Belgium was in too big of a hole to dig themselves out.

TCL Player of the Game: Alperen Sengun continues to impress with his skill and feel, recording a line of 24 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.

 
Stats don't lie: Belgium couldn't get it going from the three-point line, making only 1 out of their first 12 attempts. Those shooting woes only made life harder against a very respectable opponent. 

Bottom line: Turkey is in the driver's seat and a victory against Spain on Wednesday would grant them the first place in Group A. However, there's still a possibility of them booking a ticket already today if other results go their way.

They said:

"We have many Turkish people in Berlin. Starting today, they will be ready. I'm calling to them - start buying tickets. In Berlin we will play on home court." - Turkey coach Ergin Ataman

"It was really important for my character and that I can play basketball like this. I should be playing every game the way that I played today. Most important thing is that we need to focus on our game. To be more decisive, as we did today." - Furkan Korkmaz, Turkey

"I don't have a right to be disappointed, but I don't feel comfortable because of that first quarter. I think that we could do better and if we had been there, we could have played a better game." - Belgium coach Dario Gjergja

"I've been with these guys for four of five years. They help me every year to get ready, especially for this moment. These two months that we've been working were great. I also gained a lot of experience by seeing these games. Now I'm just happy to play. I feel like I showed what I can do on the court." - Haris Bratanovic, Belgium

 
FIBA