‘12 Giant Men’ show Greeks who’s the boss

The Greeks may have taken silver at the 2006 Worlds in Tokyo, but that record did not intimidate the Turks. To the contrary, it served to motivate the gallant “12 Giant Men” who showed high-ranking Greece who was boss. Speed, stamina, strength, dexterity, agility -- you name it -- the superior Turks had everything that the Greeks didn’t.

Milwaukee Bucks small forward Ersan İlyasova scored 26 points to help Turkey clinch a commanding victory over Greece, thereby guaranteeing the Turks a berth in the second round. Turkey improved to 3-0 with this win. Greece, which won its first two matches, is also very likely to finish in the Group C’s top four and advance to the single-elimination (knockout) round.

“We have our fans to thank for this victory,” overall top scorer and MVP Ersan said after the match. “But it isn’t over yet. We still have matches to play in our group.”

Ömer Aşık banged in 12 points for Turkey and Semih Erden added 10. Ioannis Bourousis was the top scorer for Greece with 15 points, while no other Greek player had more than nine points -- a result of good defending by the Turks.

Bourousis said he was happy to play in Turkey. “For us, it is no problem, it is not political,” Bourousis said. “We are friends. We had a bad second half and lost pace. The Turks were on target, and by the time we got back in the game it was too late to turn it,” he further noted.

Trouble-free game

Sparks usually fly whenever or wherever Greece and Turkey are involved. But there were no sparks at Ankara Arena on Tuesday. The tens of thousands of Turkish fans who packed the arena were on their best behavior and only cheered their team on -- nothing else. And this was in contrast to the hostility and intimidation that Turkish teams are subjected to whenever they visit Greece.

A small group of Greek fans unfurled a banner that read “We are neighbors and not enemies,” in reference to improved relations between the neighbors since the two nations supported each other in the wake of massive earthquakes that hit both countries in 1999.

Efes Pilsen point guard Kerem Tunçeri, Efes forward-center Kerem Gönlüm, Phoenix Suns small forward Hidayet “Hedo” Türkoğlu and other Turkish players all echoed Ersan’s sentiments. The Turks had every reason to rejoice because this was their first victory over Greece in 35 years.

As expected, the match attracted big guns across the political spectrum. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu sat side-by-side with Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitri Druchas in the VIP stands. Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Şahin and main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, among others, were also present.

“It was a good, thrilling match that was played in a cordial and friendly atmosphere,” Davutoğlu said after the game. “I would like to see these two teams in the final,” he added, with Druchas’ agreement.

Victory Day joy extended

But a match between Turkey and Greece cannot be completely free of politics because so much is at stake: national pride, prestige and bragging rights.

Fenerbahçe Ülker shooting guard Ömer Onan introduced some politics when he said, “We are mighty happy to extend our Victory Day celebrations for another day.”

Simply put, Tuesday’s victory was made all the more sweet because it came one day after Victory Day celebrations in Turkey. Victory Day, marked on Aug. 30, is a national holiday in Turkey, which commemorates victory in the Battle of Dumlupınar, the final battle in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) -- part of the Turkish War of Independence -- which the Turks won.

Ironically, the “12 Giant Men” re-enacted the Battle of Dumlupınar on Tuesday.

“It was a game for both teams. We had difficult times, but we got our act together for our most important victory. It was very important that Turkish and Greek ministers watched the match together. I hope this night will help to bolster already improving ties between the two countries,” Turkey head coach Bogdan Tanjevic said. Greek Jonas Kazlauskas congratulated the “12 Giant Men.”

Also in Group C, Russia beat Cote d’Ivoire 72-66, and Puerto Rico defeated China 84-76.

Group D results

New Zealand 108, Lebanon 76

France 68, Canada 63

Spain 73, Lithuania 76