By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Two big threes by Emir Preldzic decided the result in the thriller between Turkey and Australia. The killer instinct of Turkish forward was demonstrated five seconds before the end of the game and “Dev Adam” got the ticket for the quarterfinals just by a point (65-64) after a hard fought game.
The game was disrupted by a clock malfuction almost at the start of the first quarter, it was delayed and the two teams couldn’t find any rhythm in a first half that ended with the Boomers leading (35-34). The Australians got a 50-42 lead at the third quarter, still the game was far from decided. Turkey never gave up, even when the team of coach Ataman trailed with five points (64-59) and one minute was left on the clock. And at that point, Preldzic took center stage and gave the win with two consecutive three pointers, the second one as wild as you can imagine, to Turkey. The opponent of “Dev Adam” in the quarterfinals will be Lithuania.
As Turkish guard Sinan Guler said: “We have to be very consistent and smart against Lithuania. It is a better team than any other we played other than USA”. And for the big shot, he smiled and added: “Emir’s three-pointer was a birthday gift for all of us. It was his birthday yesterday”.