Milwaukee Bucks: Ersan Ilyasova’s Turkey beat Puerto Rico in World Cup warm-up
By Adam McGee
Turkey secured victory in their opening game at the Suzhou International Basketball Challenge, with Milwaukee Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova playing his part.
It was a day of mixed fortunes for Milwaukee Bucks representatives on the international stage on Friday.
The headlines were ultimately grabbed by USA Basketball’s shock defeat to Australia, which included further underwhelming showings from Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez, and ended the Americans’ 78-game/13 year win streak.
More from Bucks News
- Bucks 2023-24 player profile: Can MarJon Beauchamp take a leap?
- Piecing together the Milwaukee Bucks’ dream starting 5 in 5 years
- Predicting Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s 2023-24 stats for the Bucks
- Grade the trade: Bucks land reputable backup guard in swap with Pacers
- New workout video should have Milwaukee Bucks fans excited
Earlier in the day, though, there was a much more positive experience to be found from a member of the Bucks contingent that’s already touched down in China, as Ersan Ilyasova and the Turkish national team got underway in the Suzhou International Basketball Challenge.
In the very first game of the eight-team, World Cup tune-up event, Turkey matched up with Puerto Rico for a chance to advance to the semi-finals, and they grabbed that opportunity with both hands by way of a 72-64 win.
The Puerto Ricans made a promising start to put the more experienced Turks on the back foot early on, but by the time the first quarter came to a close, Turkey had managed to claw its way out in front.
There was essentially no looking back from there either. It was in the second quarter when Turkey first began to build a noteworthy cushion, and where Ersan Ilyasova delivered his two made field goals of the night.
This was a comparatively quiet showing for Ilyasova compared to some of his recent outings, but he did log limited minutes having sat out the majority of the third period. When Ilyasova was on the floor, though, he showcased moments of real skill and looked incredibly sharp, as he has throughout most of his national team’s recent matchups.
Bucks viewers tuning in to check up on Ersan were likely startled by the show-stopping move that delivered his first points, as Ilyasova caught the ball at the top of the arc, blew past the on-rushing defender by putting the ball on the floor, gave a beautiful change of pace with a dribble through his legs, and then leaned left to throw up a high, soft floater.
On the game’s very next score, Ilyasova was at it again, this time getting separation from his defender with an exaggerated step-back that brought him back behind the three-point line, and ran smoothly into a high arching jumper that rained down to find nothing but net.
Ilyasova did return for some meaningful burn in the fourth quarter, yet a 19-point lead meant there was very little urgency in the Turkish effort, and most likely too little as the final score finished with Puerto Rico getting a little closer than the Turks likely would have have hoped.
Still, this was a comfortable win for Turkey, and a real team effort. Ilyasova was not alone in having a slightly more quiet scoring effort, as Furkan Korkmaz and Cedi Osman also failed to hit their usual heights as the scoring load was shared across the roster. In fact, Osman finished with 12 points, which was enough to lead the team.
dark. Next. Milwaukee Bucks: Can they improve upon their three-point defense?
Turkey will likely be back in action for semi-final action on Sunday, with a potential final meeting with Greece on the horizon, if the Antetokounmbros can secure two wins starting with Saturday’s clash against Jordan.