Turkey defeated Iceland in Istanbul in the second round of EuroBasket qualifiers by 76:75
From the beginning of the game, Iceland has played at an exceptionally high level, preventing the opponent from gaining a significant advantage early in the game. Martin Hermannsson and Tryggvi Hlinason were excellent, and they were also the main reasons why their national team reached halftime with a tied score (16:16).
Turkey struggled to find their rhythm in the continuation of the game, which Iceland capitalized on, taking the lead in the middle of the second quarter (24:22). With an 8:0 run, Ergin Ataman‘s team gained a six-point lead for the first time (30:24). At one point, Iceland narrowed the gap to two points, but with a three-pointer by Yigitcan Saybir, Turkey extended their lead to five points before halftime – 35:30.
Turkey started the third quarter much better and, after less than five minutes of play, already established a double-digit lead – 50:39. On the other side, Aegir Steinarsson delivered an excellent performance, reducing his team’s deficit to seven points before the decisive 10 minutes (54:47).
It seemed like Turkey would secure the victory midway through the fourth quarter (66:56), but Iceland completely returned to a tied score with two successful three-pointers (66:62). With three-pointers from Steinarsson and Kristinn Palsson, Iceland closed the gap to just one point, but Turkey extended their lead to two possessions with a basket by Sertac Sanli and a foul (74:70).
With a basket by Jon Axel Gudmundsson, Iceland took the lead three seconds before the end of the game (75:74), but Turkey secured the win with a basket by Tarik Biberovic in the last second.
Iceland remains second in Group B with one win and one loss, the same as Turkey now has.
Hungary and Italy will play their game at 6 p.m.
The most efficient player in the Turkish national team was Sertac Sanli with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Martin Hermannsson stood out for Iceland with 15 points.