Turkey, which is in Group A of the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games in wheelchair basketball, defeated Canada 77-73 in the match whose regular time ended 67-67.
In the group, the national team made 2 out of 2, beating their strong rival Canada, which won gold medals in 2000, 2004 and 2012 after South Korea. Turkey will face Spain in the third match of its group at 03:00 CET tomorrow.
The national team, which was ahead 20-13 in the first quarter of the match played at Musashino Forest Sports Hall, went to the locker room with the equality of 30-30.
In the third quarter, Canada was effective on offense and entered the final period with a 54-45 lead. The crescent-star team, which defended very well in the last quarter, took the lead 57-56 in the 35th minute. With 6 seconds to go, Canada tied the game 67-67 with Nikola Goncin’s basket. The national team could not hit Uğur Toprak’s shot in the last ball, and the match, which ended in a 67-67 draw, went into overtime.
Scoring points with Özgür Gürbulak in the extra time, the national team was ahead 76-73 in the last 9 seconds with baskets from free throws. Canada couldn’t hit Patrick Anderson’s 3-pointer and Turkey won another point from the tactical foul, 77-73.
The top scorer of the match was Nikola Goncin, who scored 33 points in Canada. Özgür Gürbulak, who scored 28 points, and Uğur Toprak, who scored 17 points, were among the names that brought the victory to our national team.
Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoğlu, Minister of Youth and Sports, followed the match from the hall.
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