Red Hot Turkey Tame Tepid Ukraine

Isil Alben repaid the faith shown in her after gaining a starting spot, leading Turkey with seven assists, five boards and four steals

By Paul Nilsen

Turning Point: There wasn't one since Ukraine had to start well if they wanted to cause an upset, but were outscored 16-4 by Turkey in a disjointed and erratic start to their tournament.

Stats Don't Lie: It was a real team effort by Turkey as Ukraine struggled to cope with the offensive tide - something perfectly highlighted by Turkey having nine different scorers by the midway point of the game and 24 assists by the final buzzer - double that of the Ukrainians.

Game Heroes: Point guard Isil Alben started ahead of Birsel Vardarli and repaid that faith by conjuring seven assists, five rebounds and four steals.

Turkey fired a warning to their EuroBasket Women 2013 rivals and reiterated their podium potential after generating a landslide 78-52 opening day triumph against Ukraine.

Unsurprisingly Turkey head coach Cehyun Yildizoglu was very satisfied with his teams' opening forty minutes and especially the intensity they found after the break.

"We really made the difference in the third quarter," stated the play-caller.

"I think we came out and played really tough, something which meant that in the end, we were able to find a decisive victory."

Firmly on top from the outset, the superior depth, rotation and all-round strength of Turkey was evident from the tip-off, as they waltzed into a commanding 24-11 first quarter lead.

Ukraine did at least briefly have an improved spell during the second quarter when they finally managed to compose themselves after their rotten start.

But, despite Oleksandra Kurasova scoring on the half-time buzzer to reduce the deficit to single-digits, it was business as usual for the rampant Turkish team when they returned from the locker rooms.

Never looking like remotely relinquishing their stranglehold on things and with Nevriye Yilmaz looking impressive inside, Turkey stepped back on the accelerator and tightened their defence.

They outscored Ukraine 22-8 in the penultimate quarter and continued to play with real authority right until the final buzzer.

Quotes Ukraine vs. Turkey

Turkey Player Bahar Caglar

"It was a very important game for us and we played very well. We did a good job in the first half, but in the second we further increased our level and won the game"

Ukraine Player Kateryna Dorogobuzova

"Congratulations to Turkey because they played a great game. They are a very strong and experienced team and that was the key today. It's always very hard to start a tournament like this."

Turkey Head Coach Ceyhun Yildizoglu

"First of all, congratulations to Ukraine for their big effort. It's always very important to start a Championship winning, and we did a good job stopping their weapons. In the third quarter we started very strong and that's what decided the game."

Ukraine Head Coach Vadim Czeczuro

"We didn't start well in the first quarter, then, we came back, but in the second half we were soft on defence, and that's why they got their open opportunites. We also missed a lot of shots under the basket. Anyway, they deserved to win."