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ISTANBUL: Turkey romped into the world basketball championships quarter-finals on Sunday with a confident 95-77 rout of a hapless French team.
The deafening noise that was already being made by the fans before the game only increased with every point scored leaving the French in no doubt as to whose home court they were playing on.
Turkey started strongly but France came back quickly with the lead changing throughout the opening exchanges.
Ultimately it would be Turkey ending the first quarter with the advantage, leading 19-14.
Like they had in the first, Turkey again started scoring quickly in the second quarter, as their lead extended to 10 points with two minutes gone.
It was a lead that would only increase as the quarter progressed, seeing the Turks up 43-28 at half-time.
Sinan Guler and Hiayet Turkoglu of the Toronto Raptors were the best of the Turks in the first half with eights points each while Nando de Colo and Charlotte Bobcats' Boris Diaw led the French with seven points apiece.
Any chances of a France comeback were put to rest by Turkey early in the second half, finishing where they had left off in the first.
They scored the quarter's first seven points to go with the last nine from the previous quarter for the lead to continue to build, with the advantage out to 71-45 by the end of the quarter.
Although the gap in the scoreline did not increase in the final quarter, the damage had already been inflicted as Turkey prevailed 95-77, much to the elation of the sold out Sinan Erdem Arena.
Diaw finished as the game's top scorer with 21 points, while Turkoglu remained the best of the Turks with 20 points, supported by Guler with 17.
- AFP/de
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