OLYW - Turkey reach Quarters, USA stay perfect, Croatia claim first win
LONDON (Olympics) - If it was ever in doubt before, newcomers Turkey showed they are ready to go up against the best teams in the world as they handed China their first loss and booked their place in the Quarter-Finals in the process.
The Turks, appearing for the first time in the Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament, didn't just slip by the Chinese, rather they hammered them 82-55 to ensure their safe passage into the next round.
Despite the defeat, Sun Fengwu's charges are also through to the Final Eight.
In the day's other Group A games, four-time reigning champions USA pulled away from Czech Republic for an 88-61 win to remain undefeated.
There was more history in the making as Croatia saw off Angola 75-56 to give themselves an outside chance of being the fourth team advancing out of the group.
Angola dropped to 0-4 and only have a very slim chance to advance.
The Turks got off to a quick start, leading 26-13 at the end of the first quarter and were rarely threatened by the Chinese the rest of the way.
Captain Nevriye Yilmaz had 16 points to lead five players in double digits. Isil Alben added 11 and handed out five assists.
"It was a really tough game because China are a really good team but today we did well in playing as a team on offense and defense," the playmaker said afterwards.
"Now there are 40 minutes before we go to the Quarter-Finals. We are ready to fight," she said.
Turkey head coach Ceyhun Yildizoglu praised his team for being fully focused on the task at hand.
"I can say we never lost our defensive concentration from the beginning until the end of the game. On offense we tried to play quick. I congratulate my players," he said.
Yildizoglu's Chinese counterpart credited the Turks with wanting the game more.
"Turkey played better than us, they were more focused on the game. They had stronger desire to win the game. We started the game without enough concentration for the game situation. We tried to change our mindset, but in some games there are difficulties and adversity and we didn't react to it very well," said Fengwu.
The USA took another step in the right direction as they seek to make it five gold medals in a row.
In a re-match of the Final of the 2010 FIBA World Championship for Women, the game played out in a similar fashion: the Czechs stayed within striking distance for most of the first two quarters but the Americans then outscored them 22-9 in a pivotal third period and put the contest out of reach.
"The Czechs came out there and were really aggressive early on. We didn't have one of our best starts by any means but we were able to pick it up and had one of our best third quarters both offensively and defensively," said Tamika Catchings, one of four Americans to score in double figures who had 10 points to go along with four assists.
Diana Taurasi had a game-high 18 points and Tina Charles added 14 points to go with 11 rebounds.
The game was high-scoring early on as the two teams combined for 50 first quarter points, with the US leading 26-24.
However, Lubor Blazek's team cooled off thereafter and foul trouble was a factor as they had to play without influential centre Ilona Burgrova for most of the second half after he picked up her fourth foul with just over three minutes left in the second quarter. Without her in the paint, the Czechs were left vulnerable and ended up getting out-rebounded 61-40.
"At halftime, Geno (Auriemma) talked about getting on the boards at both ends of the floor and we did that," Catchings said of her team's strategy in the second half.
Like Turkey, the Croats are in the Olympic tournament for the first time and, after losing their first three games, they finally got a win under their belt, behind Ana Lelas' 23 points.
The result, combined with the Czechs' loss to the USA, means that Stipe Bralic's side are still mathematically in the hunt for a Quarter-Final place.
"Finally we found our game. We played well today. Angola did their job but we were better. I'm glad that the girls that came off the bench brought a lot of energy," said Lelas.
"This is an excellent feeling because this is the first game we win at the Olympics," said Croatia captain Sandra Mandir, who contributed 18 points, five rebounds and five assists to the winning cause.
"Now our confidence level goes up so we can give our best against Turkey. We must give everything to win that game because Turkey are an excellent team."
For the Group B review, click here.
The Women's Preliminary Round comes to a close on Sunday.
