Russia Comeback Denies Turkey

Dmitry Korshakov's double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds) enabled Russia to turn the game on its head in the second half

Russia is the third team to have a big smile on their face on Quarter-Finals day following a 64-57 victory over Turkey in Bilbao, Spain.

The squad of coach Alexandr Chernov will take on in the second Semi-Final the winner of the game between Spain and Latvia, after Italy and France already qualified to complete the first pair.

Dmitry Korshakov had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Russia, Andrey Zubkov added 13 and Nikita Balashov finished with 11 and two blocks.

Furkan Aldemir was the top scorer of Turkey with 13 points and added 23 rebounds.

Keeping in mind Aldemir pulled 25 rebounds in the previous game, these pair of performances are very unique.

Safak Edge had 11 points but all of them in the first half and Pertev Onguner finished with 10.

Turkey dominated the game in the first half and already held a 15-point lead, but scored only 23 points in the second half as Russia took over and got their big win.

Energy played a big part in the opening minutes as the two sides walked neck-to-neck but without making a big step forward.

Aldemir collected already eight rebounds in the first quarter as Turkey held a 10-13 lead after the first 10 minutes.

Edge and Huseyin Koksal scored from the arc to open the first quarter while Russia struggled to score, and whatever they missed was picked by one rebound specialist from Turkey - Aldemir who reached 11 of those in 13 minutes.

Furkan Aldemir's rebound tally was once again astronomical, but it did not prove enough this time for Turkey to avoid defeat

Edge added another tough three-pointer from the right corner to cap a 1-11 run, and then scored a jumper to put Turkey on top 13-24 with five minutes to play in the first half.

After Oguner bombed once more it was time for Russia to call for a time out, but only managed to finish the first half down by 11, 23-34

Russia returned to the floor with force and scored the first eight points of the second half, to make it a close game again.

Barinov tied the score with a massive dunk and Korshakov nailed the three-pointer to put Russia on top for the first time since the first quarter, 41-38

Muhammed Senli scored from the arc to tie the score but Russia's momentum continued with a 45-41 lead early in the last quarter.

The lead changed hands and every possession with a point this or the other way made a huge difference, but then Russia started their 11-0 run that eventually decided the game.

Zubkov hit a three-pointer to give Russia a 48-47 lead, right when the teams entered the last five minutes, but after a time out by Turkey it was Ivan Strebkov and Ruslan Tumanov who added a long range hit of their own and set the score on 54-47.

Turkey tried to answer with the same currency but was less effective and Korshakov with a jumper increase the gap to nine with just a bit over three minutes for Turkey to save the day.

Aldemir with a tip-in, and his 21st rebound, along with Koksal cut it back to just 58-55 and 1:35 to play as Russia called a time-out to get their plans straight.

Turkey came back to the floor not well organized on defense and saw Balashov dunk the ball, while on the other end Aldemir left the floor for a power dunk but was blocked.

Zubkov then hit a pair from the line, setting the gap back on seven on the edge of the last minute, and this time it was enough for the win.