MANILA, Philippines – NBA player Cory Joseph set the tone and led the charge for Canada in its win over Turkey, 77-69, during the opening game of the FIBA Manila Olympic Qualifying Tournament on Tuesday, July 5, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Joseph, a back-up point guard for the Toronto Raptors, finished with 21 points with 11 coming in the third period to hold off a Turkey rally. He also registered 5 assists and 3 boards.
(IN PHOTOS: Canada holds off Turkey in Manila OQT opener)
Tristan Thompson of the NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers struggled from the field by going only 3-of-11 from the field but still finished with 10 points and 6 boards while outplaying another NBA big man Omer Asik of Turkey.
Asik finished with only 4 points and was a -13 in 10 minutes. Turkey was led by the 14 points of team captain Sinan Guler. Canada shot 42% from the field while the Turks hit only 36% of their attempts
Canada will aim for a 2-0 record and automatic semis berth when it faces Senegal on Wednesday. Turkey faces the same team next on Thursday. – Rappler.com
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.