Turkey pulled away from Belgium in the fourth quarter and won 78-63 on Saturday night to claim sole possession of first place in Group C of EuroBasket qualifying.

The Turks only led 52-50 following a three-pointer at the start of the final period by Belgium's Dimitri Lauwers, but Kerem Gönlüm replied with a three-ball for Bogdan Tanjevic's team to start an 8-0 run.

Turkey held a comfortable lead the rest of the way.

Ersan Ilyasova, who had his best professional year at Barcelona last season, had 21 points and nine rebounds for Turkey.

Christophe Beghin poured in 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Belgium, who dropped to 0-2.

The Belgians hurt their own cause by making just 10 of 19 (52.6%) shots at the free throw line.

Turkey finished nine of 23 from long range, with Endar Arslan nailing four of six on his way to 20 points.

Ilyasova was three of four from the arc.

Turkey out-rebounded Belgium 41-28.

Eddy Casteels, Belgium coach:

"We were competitive for three quarters, even took a small lead, but in the end we couldn't keep up with a physically stronger and bigger Turkish team. It's a pity, because, as in France, we had some very good moments. I hate making excuses, but playing against Turkey without a player like Axel Hervelle is a big loss. Now we have to win twice against Ukraine, which is not an easy task. Their home win against France was not a surprise to me."

Doum Lauwers, Belgium player:

"Both teams had a bad start, but I would have settled for a 51-49 victory. We have to be sharper defensively, if we want to have a chance to win against teams like Turkey. It hurts losing big to France and Turkey after having played well the three first quarters of both games."  

Bogdan Tanjevic, Turkey coach:

"Thumbs up to Belgium. This team showed a lot of character. That is the strength of this team. Before the game, I specifically stressed to my players that they could not underestimate Belgium. They picked up on it, and, in my modest opinion, I think we deservedly won the game. We are two for two now, but it will still get tough in our group. Even Belgium is not out of the race yet."