Balbay, Turkey drop 66-63 decision to Italy at Under-20 European Championships
Aug. 3, 2008
RIGA, Latvia -- University of Texas sophomore point guard Dogus Balbay was limited to one point, three rebounds and one assist as Turkey dropped a 66-63 decision to Israel during the third day of action at the Under-20 European Championships on Sunday at the Olympic Sports Centre. Balbay was 1-of-2 from the free throw line and 0-of-1 from the floor (a missed three-pointer) while adding a steal in 27 minutes of action. Turkey completed Group B pool play with a 2-1 mark and earned the second seed from Group B in the upcoming qualifying round. The top three seeds from each of the four pool groups advance to the qualifying round. Turkey will open qualifying round play against Ukraine (No. 2 seed from Group A) on Tuesday, Aug. 5. The Turks will then face Lithuania (No. 1 seed from Group A) on Wednesday, Aug. 6 before concluding play in the qualifying round against Croatia (No. 3 seed from Group A) on Thursday, Aug. 7. The top two teams in this portion of the qualifying pool will advance to the semifinals, scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 9. In the first three contests of the tournament, Balbay is averaging 8.0 points per game (fourth on the team) and a team-high 5.0 assists per game while converting 9-of-18 (.500) field goals. For more information on the Under-20 European Championships, please see the tournament’s official Web site at fibaeurope-u20men.com/en/.
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