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Basketball world championship:Turkey Remains Undefeated with 76-69 Win over Qatar |
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Written by Zaman
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Wednesday, 23 August 2006 17:31 |
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The Turkish national basketball team has defeated Qatar 76-69 at WorldBasket '06 in Japan.
On Wednesday Turkey claimed its fourth successive win at WorldBasket '06 with a comfortable victory over Qatar.
Turkey, without its veteran captain Ibrahim Kutluay and experienced point guard Serkan Erdogan, both out due to injury, took on Group C's weakest team Qatar with a squad mostly consisting of young reserves.
Turkey finished the first half ahead 49-35 and increased its lead to 26 points in the third quarter. However, Qatar outscored Turkey 20-11 in the final quarter and pulled within five points with two minutes to go. Turkey nevertheless held on to earn a 76-69 victory over its winless rival.
Turkey, already ensured qualification round, will play Greece on Thursday to decide the first place in Group C.
All 10 Turkish players out of the 12-man squad collected points. Playmaker Engin Atsur was the top scorer for Turkey with 12 points. Ender Arslan and Cenk Akyol added 10 points each for Turkey. Ali Erfan Saeed scored 20 points for Qatar.
Turkey had won the previous three against Lithuania, Australia and Brazil. Turkey defeated Lithuania 76-74 for the first time in an official match in the opener of Group C, and also beat Australia 76-68 in the second match in the tournament. On Wednesday, Turkey won 73-71 against Brazil - the first official win for Turkey over Brazil.
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