08-SEPTEMBER-2012
GREAT BRITAIN SHOCKS TURKEY 

 

After losing only at the tie-break to Portugal on Friday, Great Britain created another surprise by besting Turkey in five sets. Turkey actually started well powered by Emre Batur and set the pace of the game all the way through in the opening set (8:7, 12:9, 25-17).

Great Britain went up by the slimmest margin at both mandatory stops of the second set but then broke away (20:16, 23:19) before Dami Bakare scored the last couple of rallies of the set.

Great Britain flipped the score around from 3:5 to 8:5 in set 3 and once more accelerated the pace (14:10, 16:11) with Bakare on fire (19:14). Burutay Subasi tried to fire Turkey’s comeback (21:18) but Team GB did not slow down and went for the 2:1 (25-20).

Things changed dramatically in set 4 where Turkey moved to the front (8:5, 16:9) and dominated the final section of the set for a massive 25-13 that called for the tie-break. There Turkey got up 8:7 but Team GB drew level at 13 before a never ending battle unfolded and the 2012 Olympians could finish it off with the incredible score of 26-24.

Bakare amassed a total of 30 points for Team GB while Emre Batur registered 25 for Turkey.

“I am just thrilled especially since we displayed our best play with the exception of the fourth set. We always believed in our chances and ended up by beating a strong Turkish team” said an evidently happy GB coach Joel Banks.

“I am evidently sad because the team played well only in the fourth set and we thought we could close the match in our favor but were unable to do so” stated Veljko Basic, the head coach of Turkey.

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