ISTANBUL (AP) — Ersan Ilyasova scored 19 points to help Turkey knock Slovenia out of the basketball world championship Wednesday with a 95-68 quarterfinal victory.
The teams traded leads five times until Kerem Tunceri’s 3-pointer with 6:35 left in the first quarter put Turkey up 12-11, keying a 20-5 run. Turkey made eight of 11 3s in the first half.
Bostjan Nachbar and Sani Becirovic each had 16 points for Slovenia.
The win sends Turkey to the semifinals on Saturday to meet Serbia, which beat defending champion Spain 92-89 earlier Wednesday. Turkey will finish in the top four for the first time at an Olympics or world championship.
