Game Summary

Turning Point: After Russia used eight three-pointers to open a 14-point mid-second quarter gap, Fridzon drained two more and three foul shots in a 12-2 third quarter spurt as Russia surged ahead 63-47. Turkey did not get closer than eight points the rest of the way.

Hero: Fridzon hit one big shot after another the entire game and gave his teammates confidence in their shooting as well.

Stats: Russia made 16 of 24 three-pointers in the game.

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Russia rebounded from their disappointing loss in the final qualifier for the 2010 FIBA World Championship to knock off Turkey 89-66 to claim seventh place at EuroBasket 2009.

Vitalii Fridzon buried seven three-pointers in scoring 26 points and leading five Russians in double figures in Russia's final game as 2007 reigning champions.

Anton Ponkrashov had 16 points, nine assists and four rebounds. Aleksey Zozulin also each had 16 points, Nikita Kurbanov added 13 while Sergey Monya chipped in 11 points in helping Russia shoot 16 of 24 from long range.

"This was a great finish. That was the Turkish national team. We beat them bad. And that's a good team. They came to win. They didn't want to lose. We played a great game. We got a great performance from just about everybody," said Blatt, whose team must now hope for a wild card to play next summer in Turkey.

"I felt this was an excellent performance, a very respectful showing and something to look forward to for the national team. That is what I had hoped."

Turkey finished eighth with four straight losses to close the tournament despite 24 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks by Omer Asik. Semich Erden added nine points in a losing effort.

"We finished our competition in eighth place. We fought, we were ready to go. We played the first five games very well, but losing the other games was very hard," said Turkish coach Bogdan Tanjevic.

"We lost ambition to play down the stretch. We finished under the level we wanted to. But overall I am satisfied with the performance of this team."

Asik scored four points in helping Turkey jump out ahead 9-0 in the first three minutes. But Russia used the long ball to get back into the game and build a lead.

Zozulin and Fridzon both nailed two three-pointers in the middle of a 23-7 run for a 23-16 lead. And Zozulin's three-point heave from about 30 feet went in at the buzzer for a 26-18 advantage after one quarter.

The Russian barrage continued in the second half with Zozulin and Fridzon both hitting again and Anton Ponkrashov joining the party with a triple to make it 37-23.

Engin Atsur hit a long ball of his own to bring Turkey back into the game and Asik scored eight points the rest of the quarter as the Turks closed within 51-40 at the break.

Turkey scored the first five points out of the locker room but Fridzon sandwiched triples around a Sergey Monya three-ball and then made three foul shots to extend the lead to 16 points, 63-47.

Turkey answered with the next eight points but still trailed 68-59 after three periods.

Asik refused to let Turkey go down without a fight scoring six points in the fourth quarter. But the Russians were just too motivated and too hot from long range with Fridzon nailing two more treys in the fourth quarter. And the lead swelled to 23 points.

David Blatt (Russia Coach):

"We came here as a champions, but we didn't come here with the same team. Only three players were here comparing to last year's Olympic Games and all were non-starters there. That's why I called Kelly McCarty and asked him for a personal favor. He agreed to help us and he led a young and inexperienced team to an excellent performance."

Kelly McCarty (Russia):

"We wanted to continue a good performance from yesterday's match and to finish strong this tournament. Coach prepared us really well for this game and every player stepped in today and contributed. We won and for me playing here for Russian national team was a great experience."

Bogdan Tanjevic (Turkey Coach):

"So we finished this tournament in eighth place. I thought we were ready to take one of the medals, but when we lost to Greece in the Quarte-Finals after overtime, we lost ambition to continue. We also had an injury problem. At the end I can't be happy with the final result, but I'm generally satisfied with the performance of our team."

Baris Hersek (Turkey):

"I want to thank the hosts for a good work with the organization of this championship. We started this tournament really good, but it stopped after the Quarter-Final game. Hopefully next year, with the support of our fans, we will finish in a medal position."

Pride is at stake in the game for seventh place at EuroBasket 2009 as Russia face off against Turkey in their final game as reigning champions without a chance to reach next summer's FIBA World Championship.

Russia lost against Croatia in the 5th to 8th place games and with it their last qualification opportunity for the 2010 Worlds, which will be hosted by Turkey, who did not need to worry about qualifying.

Bogdan Tanjevic's Turkish side could not come up with a full effort against France and now play for seventh place in a tournament where the hopes and expectations were much, much higher.

Head-to-head: Russia have won both pervious match-ups, beating Turkey 102-93 in Group B of the 1995 European Championship and then two years later 87-56 in Group A of the 1997 European Championship.

Last time out: Turkey started strong but did not have the energy to finish in losing to France 80-68 in the 5th to 8th place games. Russia wasted a 10-point first half lead in falling 76-69 to Croatia to miss a chance to qualify for the 2010 World Championship.

Key Match-up: Omer Asik v Timofey Mozgov.  Both 23-year-old centers have played an integral role in their teams' push to the quarter-finals. Asik has scored in double figures six times for Turkey while Mozgov has gone for 10 points or more five times. With Asik having more help in the post - with backups such as Semih Erden and Ogus Savas - the Turks may look to force Mozgov into foul trouble early to take Russia's second-leading scorer out of the game. 

X-Factor: Pride. Both teams want to finish their tournament on a high note after hoping for more than playing for seventh place. Whichever team wants this game more after a long tournament will likely come up the winner.

Stats: 75.8 and 69.5.  Turkey is the fifth highest scoring team to get past the Preliminary Round with 75.8 points while Russia is last with 69.5 points. Russia will have to find a way to score points against Turkey, who will want to push the tempo.

Sounding off: "I sure want to see us go out the same way we came in - with our heads up and our butts down close to the ground on defense. We cannot give up because we are representing something bigger than ourselves. But Turkey will do the same thing. It will be a very competitive game." -Russia Coach David Blatt