Turkey trashes France to set up a quarterfinal clash with Slovenia

Turkey and its vaunted zone defense paved the way for another dominating win at the FIBA World Championship Sunday night against France.A nearly capacity crowd of 15,000 – including 22 members of Turkey's national football squad sitting courtside – witnessed a powerful performance at Sinan Erdem Dome as Bogdan Tanjevic's team scored 13 points off 11 first-half turnovers to take command and then lowered the boom in the third quarter before pulling away for a 95-77 triumph.The round-of-16 victory has thrown Turkey into a quarterfinal showdown with the Slovenians, who blew away Australia 87-58 in the first game of the day. Turkey coach Tanjevic was delighted with the victory. "We found France to be tough and playing great defense," he said a post game press conference. "Before Hidayet opened the shooting and from then on, we found everything easy. We played another good game, great defense and executed on offense." When asked if his team could be stopped at the quarterfinals, Tanjevic said he did not know. "I think we are ready, but the Slovenians are, also," he said. "They play with great intensity and it’s going to be another test for us."