Italy Win Pushes Turkey To The Brink

Danilo Gallinari led the way for Italy with 19 points and six rebounds

Italy clinched their spot in the EuroBasket with a victory over the Czech Republic at the weekend and on Wednesday night in Kayseri, they celebrated with a famous come-from-behind triumph over Turkey.

Trailing by 18 points late in the first half, the Azzurri battled back to win 83-82 to remain unbeaten seven games into the Qualification Round.

Danilo Gallinari and Pietro Aradori scored 19 points apiece for the Italians, who have pushed the Turks to the brink.

Bogdan Tanjevic, who coached Italy to the EuroBasket gold medal in 1999 but is now in charge of Turkey, has a side that is 3-3 with two games remaining.

Their best chance of making it to next year's Final Round looks to be as one of the four third-place teams in the six groups.

But they will have to win against Portugal and the Czech Republic to have a realistic shot of doing that.

All appeared to be going according to plan late in the first half when a Baris Hersek basket pushed Turkey's advantage to 42-28.

Italy shaved five points off the deficit before the break after a lay-up from captain Stefano Mancinelli, a three-ball from NBA star Gallinari and a jumper from Angelo Gigli.

The visitors then began the third quarter by reeling off seven unanswered points to trim the Turkish lead to 44-38.

Turkey managed to take a 62-56 advantage to the final quarter and went in front 70-59 on a Dogus Balbay lay-up with 7:52 to go.

The Italians stormed back with Aradori nailing a three-ball and then a jumper to close the gap to 70-66.

Turkey kept their noses in front and victory again looked the most likely outcome for them until Italy's Daniel Hackett connected from long range to cut the deficit to 82-81.

Gallinari then blocked Kerem Gonlum's lay-up, and possession went back to Italy.

After a Tanjevic timeout, Luigi Datome drilled a go-ahead jumper with just seven seconds to go.

Ender Arslan missed a potential game-winning jumper just two seconds from the end for Turkey as Italy held on.

Quotes Turkey vs. Italy

Turkey head coach Bogdan Tanjevic:
"It was a similar game like the first game in Italy. I think we were very close to win the game there and tonight too. We increased the gap to more than 10 points, two times during the game but at the end of the game, we had to protect a four-point lead after the time out. We used zone defense but they made the three-point shot and a lay-up on the left side. This defeat was a punishment of our errors in the second half. Especially the beginning of the second half was bad for us. They almost got eight points without spending too much energy. In the end, they are the group leader and play really hard. Especially, they are good at three-point shots. We were under pressure but they were not that's another advantage for them. Now, we have to win the next two games."

Turkey player Dogus Balbay:
"Today, we again saw that even a lead of 15-18 points during the match was not enough to win the game. At the end of the first half, we could go to the locker room with a 20-point lead but we did it by 12 points due to our unforced errors. In addition, we couldn't start the third quarter as we wanted. I guess we fought till the end of the game but sometimes those little mistakes can sweep away the whole game."

Italy head coach Simone Pianigiani:
"I'm very proud of my team. It was difficult to play in here. Turkey is a good and skilled team, the atmosphere in Kayseri was also hard to play against. However, my players want to build a status for them to win all of their games. They had excellent preparation games and qualification games too. Although we are qualified for EuroBasket 2013 already, we aim to finish the group unbeaten. Tonight's victory belongs to my players, not to me. The team showed that they compete until the end and this is what I expect from my players."

Italy player Danilo Gallinari:
"It was a tough game. Although we are qualified for EuroBasket 2013, we were motivated enough to win this game. That's why this victory was important for our team. They played more aggressive in the beginning of the game but we never gave up. We came back and decreased the gap. In the second half we played really good and this helped to get the victory."