It was a tight first quarter between the Japanese Men and Turkish Men in their first game of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games with only two points could separating the two teams, 18 -16.
The second quarter was also close but it was Turkey who edged in front by just six points to give them some breathing space going into half time.
In the third the teams went basket for basket keeping Japan within touching distance of Turkey. However Turkey proved too strong for the Japanese in the final quarter and led by their captain Ozgur Gurburlak, who recorded a double-double of 25 points and 10 assists for the match, they secured the win by 16 points, 65 -49.
Turkey’s Head Coach Tacettin Cipa said, “It’s really good to start the tournament with a win and we are very happy, we expected a tough game like this as Japan is a very good, young and tough team. It was a good game, we made a few mistakes in offence but we played with heart and closed it out with our defence. The crowd was awesome and I want to thank all the supporters, it was great to play in front of such a crowd so I want to thank them.”
Japan’s Head Coach, Shimpei Oikawa said, “It was the first game and you could tell. Some of the players were nervous but Turkey were just too strong. We tried to figure out how the number five Gurburlak plays to try and stop him, as we know what he can do but he was much much better than we expected and he is a team work player. In the end Turkey were too strong and we couldn’t catch up. We focus on getting better every game, doesn’t matter if we win or lose so I told them we will just focus on the next game and get better!”
For full match statistics find them here https://www.rio2016.com/en/paralympics/wheelchair-basketball-mens-group-a-preliminary
