France Complete Turkey's Misery

Boris Diaw broke out of a recent slump to record a tournament high 18 points as France (3-2) beat Turkey (0-5) 85-64 in their final game of the qualifying round.

The result didn’t affect the fate of Claude Bergeaud’s men who had already secured their place in the last eight and knew before the game that they would face Russia in the quarter-finals tomorrow night.

And while a victory was not crucial for France, the players felt it was a much-needed boost ahead of tomorrow’s clash.

“This win gives us a bit of confidence going into the game tomorrow,” said swingman Tariq Kirksay, who finished with 15 points – hitting all of his shots from the field and the free-throw line – along with four rebounds and three steals.

“We had to work on some things and I think we did well. I don't know if you want to say it was a practice game, but we wanted to work on some stuff. And we wanted to win and we got some players some confidence. And now we have to be ready for tomorrow.”

Turkey, meanwhile, now head home and have time to contemplate where they go from here after finishing dead last in Group F, failing to win a single game in the second phase of the tournament.

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source : eurobasket2007.org