Dream turned into a nightmare

Arriving to Lithuania with aspirations for an Olympic ticket, Turkey’s national basketball team paid the price last night for underestimating Poland, and is now face to face with the danger of bidding farewell to the European Basketball Championships.



Their feet may have been on the ground in the stadium in Lithuania, their eyes were on Poland, their minds however were definitely on Spain. Their objective was to pull the plug on their Polish rivals in the first half in order to secure a final spot in this year's European Basketball Championship.

The intentions of Turkey's National Basketball Team were not reflected on the parquet floor in last night's game. Poland took a small lead for the majority of the game, with Turkey taking over in the second half. In the final 12 seconds the score was 83-84 with Poland in the lead. Last year's hero in the critical game against Serbia Kerem Tunçeri attempted a three-pointer, but to no avail and Poland took the victory. For Turkey it may take a miracle to excel past the group stage. Turkey must acquire a win tonight against tournament favorites Spain and Poland needs to lose against Great Britain.