Engin Atsür Sinks Key Shots Against Slovenia

A flurry of three-pointers sealed Turkey’s biggest win to date in the FIBA World Championships today. The game, in which advantage constantly scissored back and forth between the two teams, got all the way down to the wire:

Erdogan got ahead for a break-away layup for a 71-67 Turkey advantage with 7:12 remaining only to see Nesterovic’s hook give the Slovenians a 74-71 advantage. 

Then came the shooting guard from North Carolina State:

Turkey appeared ready to turn the ball over on a shot clock violation, but Atsür hit a three-pointer as the buzzer went off, tieing the game at 74-74. Just a minute later he hit another three-pointer – this one well behind the line – to pull Turkey within 79-77.

"He (Engin Atsür) doesn’t have a big experience at international level, but he’s got a big heart and you see that on the court today," Erdogan said of Atsür.

Erdogan then buried back-to-back treys, followed by one from Peker to push Turkey ahead 86-81 with 1:36 remaining.

Brezec put back an offensive rebound and Atsur commited a turnover with 26 seconds left. But Slovenia’s final comeback hopes were dashed when Nachbar missed a three-pointer with 18 seconds left. Erdogan made both free throws with 13 seconds remaining and drained two more with 4.8 seconds to ice the game. 

The rest of the write-up at FIBA.
Box Score. 

Congratulations, Engin. I knew you could do it.

Tags: engin atsur, FIBA, wolfpack basketball