Larkin powers Turkey to first win; Netherlands own the tiebreaker
ISTANBUL (Turkey) - Turkey were in trouble of falling to 0-4, but Shane Larkin's late game heroics were enough to give them their first win of the campaign. But the tiebreaker still belongs to Netherlands.
ISTANBUL (Turkey) - Turkey were in trouble of falling to 0-4, but Shane Larkin's late game heroics were enough to give them their first win of the campaign. But the tiebreaker still belongs to the Netherlands, because Oranje won the first game by seven, and lost this one 73-71.
There was no drama in the end, once Larkin paced Turkey to a two-possession lead, Coach Maurizio Buscaglia slowed down the tempo for the Netherlands, aiming to drain the game clock and protect the seven point lead from the first matchup. The mission proved successful, and they will finish above Turkey in case of a tie in the standings at the end of the February window.
Turning Point: Teams were trading blows all game long, and it was a one-possession game late in the fourth, before Larkin took over. His trademark side-step three-pointer from the right side made it a 71-65 game with less than three minutes to go, and a possession later, the Netherlands overreacted by sending two players on Larkin. The guard found Sertac Sanli under the rim, easy layup meant there was no coming back from that deficit for the Netherlands.
Game Hero: Shane Larkin looked as fresh as possible in this one, opening the game with 13 points in the first quarter, and finishing with 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field, including 5-of-10 from beyond the arc, while also dishing out 9 assists and not having a single turnover in 34 minutes of work.
Stats Don't Lie: How do you win a game in which your opponents knocked down 10-of-20 three-pointers? Well, Turkey did it with their defense, ironically, forcing 23 turnovers, compared to 11 of their own. In a game where every possession maters, being -12 in that department was a game-winner.
Bottom Line: Orhun Ene and the rest of the team are now huge Croatian fans, because a win for Croatia over Sweden would mean that Turkey are tied with Sweden at 1-3. A win for Sweden would make the Turkish job to avoid the bottom spot much harder in the February window.
They Said:
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