Canada’s Tristan Thompson maneuvers in the paint against a Turkey defender at the start of the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manila at the Mall of Asia Arena last night. (INQUIRER.NET)
Thompson, Joseph help Canada rip Turkey in FIBA OQT Manila opening
Tristan Thompson provided the intangibles he’s known for as a vital piece to Cleveland Cavaliers’ NBA championship run while Corey Joseph picked up where he left off as one of the Toronto Raptors’ top guards.
Canada came in as the favorites in the Fiba Olympic qualifying tournament in Manila and it showed why with a dominating 77-69 win over Turkey last night.
Joseph fired 11 of his 21 points in the third quarter where the Canadians, a potential semifinals opponent of the Philippine team should Gilas advance past the group stage, broke loose.
Joseph actually scored nine points in the final one minute and 40 seconds of the third quarter where he put Canada on his back.
Turkish guards Sinan Guler and Ali Muhammed, who torched Gilas in a tune-up game last week, were shut down by Canada with the naturalized point guard held scoreless, missing all of his eight attempts from the field.
Guler led Turkey with 14 points, but only had five in the second half.
Thompson did the dirty work for Canada, finishing with 10 points, highlighted by three dunks, six rebounds and three assists.
Turkey rued its poor offensive showing where it shot only 36% from the field, including 6-of-26 from the three-point area, and missed 15 free throws.