SHANGHAI, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Czech Republic progressed to the second round at their first ever FIBA World Cup after beating Turkey 91-76 here on Thursday.
Both teams began the game having recorded one win and one loss, with the winner guaranteed a ticket to the tournament's second stage.
Turkey, which lost a close game against the USA, led from the start, before a Vojtech Hruban three-pointer turned things around for the Czechs, who ended the first quarter six points ahead.
The Czechs grabbed eight more rebounds in first half, taking a 43-35 lead into half-time.
Turkey staged an 8-0 run with a pair of three-pointers to level things up at 43-43, but the Czechs managed to regain their advantage, with the scores at 66-60 heading into the last quarter.
With a tough defense, the Czechs ran away with more easy baskets and never gave any further chances to the Turks later on, with 15 more rebounds throughout the game.
"Our team played really amazingly," said Czech coach Ronen Ginzburg. "They did what I asked and more. They are lions. We will celebrate this win for a long time, personally and as a country. Against Turkey we won the ball and didn't let them run."
"During the game we tried to do lots of things but they pushed hard to play against us with a tough defense," said Turkey assistant coach Recep Sen. "We tried to come back and we did but they answered. We are sorry for our fans."
Although Cedi Osman had a game-high 24 points for Turkey, five Czech players managed double-digit points for their victory, with Ondrej Balvin notching 17 points and 11 rebounds.
"We made history for our country and it's amazing. Today we fought with our heart and in the end we wanted this game more than anybody else. If you know your responsibilities and fulfill them, you can do your best," said Balvin.
