Argentina whips Turkey 83-58

In the "not even fair" category, Argentina beat up on Engin Atsür and his teammates today. They couldn’t get any decent shots to fall, shooting a miserable 37% and getting so far down in the fourth quarter (it was 36 points when I had to stop looking at the stats because I was depressed) that it just wasn’t going to happen. At about seven and a half minutes left, Turkey was down almost as much as they were at the end. The international media described it thusly: a goring, a slamming, and my favorite, a dumping. Ouch.

Despite such glowing reports, the 12 Dev Adam kept their heads high. There are still games left for them to play; they face Lithuania tomorrow to battle for fifth or sixth place in the championship, which used to count towards the Olympics but I believe does not make a difference now. Either way, they are still fighting for fifth and not giving up. Engin has shot incredibly well for this championship and really come into his own at the point:

• FG 12/24 for 52%,
• 2pt 6/10 for 60%,
• 3pt 6/14 for 42.9%,
• and, in true Prince Engin fashion, 8 assists.  

FIBA put up an interview with star player Serkan Erdogan who sounded tired but strong: 

FIBA: Can you compare Turkey’s team today to that of last year’s Eurobasket and the atmosphere within the side?

Erdogan: There’s a huge difference in our approach, our character. We have to keep developing the good atmosphere that we have in the team.

FIBA: Is today’s result a step in the right direction for Turkey basketball?

Erdogan: Yes it definitely is. The loss is hard to swallow but the experience of the quarter-finals is very valuable for the future. We will bounce back from the defeat in time for the classification games and we want that fifth place. There’s a huge difference between fifth and eighth. 

It’s hard to believe that when Engin gets done in Japan, he’ll have only a few weeks of rest before he has to get geared up for ACC madness. In the football preview this weekend, the Raleigh News & Observer reminded us hoops heads that basketball practice starts in less than 45 days! Engin has had quite a year so far.

Tags: engin atsur, FIBA, wolfpack basketball