Ermal Kurtoglu scored 10 of his 24 points in overtime and Turkey, which trailed by 11 points with two-and-a-half minutes left in regulation, beat Lithuania 95-84 yesterday in a classification game at the basketball world championship.
At halftime, the greater Tokyo area was shaken by a 4.8-magnitude earthquake. The Super Arena, which is 28km north of downtown Tokyo, shook for a few seconds but there was no damage and little reaction from the fans.
Darius Songaila, who plays for the Washington Wizards, made two free throws with 2:40 left in regulation to give Lithuania (4-4) a 67-56 lead. Kurtoglu hit a 3 with 1:27 left to make it 69-65.
PHOTO: AP
Engin Atsur, who plays at North Carolina State, scored on a drive with 21 seconds left to bring Turkey (6-2) within 74-71. Linas Kleiza, who plays for the Denver Nuggets, made one of two free throws with 19 seconds left to give Lithuania a four-point lead.
With 13 seconds left, Ender Arslan of Turkey was fouled. He made the first free throw, but missed the second. The rebound bounced off to the left side and he ran it down, stepped behind the line and hit a 3 with 8.5 seconds left to tie it.
Kurtoglu then took over, scoring eight points -- including a 3-pointer and a three-point play -- in the opening three minutes of overtime.
Arslan finished with 18 points for Turkey, which had already assured itself of its best worlds finish by reaching the quarter-finals.
"I had to shoot so when I grabbed it I focused and I shot," Arslan said.
"Thank God it went in," he said.
Atsur, who had nine points, said he knew something was going on at halftime.
"I said to myself, `Is that an earthquake?' and then I heard two guys across the locker room say the same thing so I knew it wasn't just me," he said, adding he was in Turkey in 2003 when a 6.4-magnitude earthquake killed 83 people.
Songaila had 17 points for Lithuania, which finished with 28 turnovers.
In yesterday's other game it was:
France 75, Germany 73
Topscorers
France: Joseph Gomis (17), Ronny Turiaf (15), Boris Diaw (13). Germany: Dirk Nowitzki (29), Steffen Hamann (12), Robert Garrett (10).
A seven-year-old horse had to be euthanized on Friday after breaking its back on the final fence of a Grand National steeplechase race that it won despite sustaining the serious injury. It follows the death of four horses at the Cheltenham Festival last month — including one after the prestigious Gold Cup. Gold Dancer was competing in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase during Ladies Day at Aintree’s Grand National Festival. The horse managed to cross the finish line approximately four lengths ahead of runner-up Regent’s Stroll. “The winner of our second race of the day, Gold Dancer, was pulled up after
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Ninad Malwade was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
This year’s Taiwan Athletics Open, which offers Taiwanese athletes an opportunity to compete against their international peers, would be held under a new name after its organizers had earlier announced the event’s cancelation. In a statement issued yesterday, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association said the competition would still take place on June 6-7 at Banciao Stadium, but under the name “New Taipei City Athletics Open 2026.” The event was given a new name to emphasize its local identity and conform with the international practice of naming World Athletics Tour events after cities, the association said. It said it would soon
RSS