By Aris Barkas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
The Eurobasket hosts got a record crowd pushing them in Lille and the end result was a veritable celebration. Tony Parker and company got the 76-53 win over Turkey which at the end of the game collapsed and couldn’t stay close in the score.
During 17 minutes the game was more than close as Bobby Dixon and Ersan Ilyasova kept Turkey alive. The score was 25-25, but then France suddenly ignited while Turkey had two consecutive turnovers. The first hald ended with a 11-1 run for the Eurobasket hosts, the crowd went wild and the guests trailed for the first time in double digits.
Nando De Colo with 8 points and 6 assists was the man who dictated the tempo for France in the first 20 minutes, while the duo of Nicolas Batum and Joffrey Lauvergne scored 7 points each. Dixon had 9 points but 1/5 threes and Ilyasova 7 points, 7 rebounds and also 4 turnovers.
The domination of France went on at the third quarter. Tony Parker who didn’t score a point in the first half, had 5 points and when the leader gets to work, the other must follow. France ended the period with a 59-40 lead and there was no turning back. Defense was the key as the French had 8 steals and 4 blocks at this point, against just 1 steal by the Turks. In the last quarter both coaches used their bench players with Vincent Collet thinking already the Tuesday’s game against Latvia.
De Colo (15p, 7 rebounds, 7 assists) was the leading scorer. Lauvergne (12 points, 9 rebounds), Fournier (12 p, 6 rebounds) and Batum (10 points, 5 rebounds) followed.
Among the losing side, only Ersan Ilyasova (14 points, 10 rebounds) was double digit. Bobby Dixon followed with 9 points, all of them in the first half.