By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Canada beat Turkey 69-77 in the premiere of the OQT in Manila, Philippines.
Joseph and Scrubb gave good pace to Canada in the beginning of the game, as Turkey couldn’t match up their strength. Guler gave Turkey a 4-point advantage at 9′, but Canada’s Scrubb finished the first period with a buzzer to make the score 17-21.
During the first minutes of the second period, it was Osman who took charge for Turkey, then Bennett gave Canada a 6-point lead, 22-28 at 15′. Joseph and Batuk exchanged threes and just like that, Canada started pulling away at halftime, leading 30-39.
After the break, Scrubb pushed the deficit to double digits for the first time (32-46 midway through the third period) and it was obvious that the Turkish team was numb. A few attempts by Guler and Osman weren’t enough for a comeback and so Turkey was behind 47-59 after 30 minutes.
In the final period, Turkey reduced the deficit even to 6 points, but the loss was inevitable since Canada’s shooting from the arch couldn’t be stopped. Turkey appeared to run out of energy pretty quick and was taken aback from Canada’s aggressiveness in the game.
C. Joseph led Canada with 21 points and 5 assists, while S. Guler scored 14 points for Turkey.