Basketball

 

Understrength GB lose to Turkey in World Cup qualifier

Myles Hesson again led GB with 18 points and point guard Devon van Oostrum impressively added 12.

The hosts staged repeated recoveries when Turkey threatened to inflict a heavier defeat.

Nate Reinking's team still advanced from a three-team Group B as a result of Belarus being barred due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Britain, Turkey and group winners Greece join Belgium, Latvia and Serbia in their second-round pool for six more games, with three teams qualifying for the 2023 finals.

They will face Belgium in their next qualifier on 25 August.

In a busy summer, GB will then prepare for the EuroBasket Finals in September, where they play in Milan against Italy, Greece, Estonia, Ukraine and Croatia.

"We have a depth chart and an idea of who we'll move forward with," said GB head coach Reinking, who also has an assistant coach position with the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA team.

"Some of those guys took their opportunity - there's going to be difficult decisions."

One of those to shine was Van Oostrum, who had not played an international since 2014 before this qualifying window.

Reinking added: "He was very good. We were tight at the guard position this window so he stepped up and took the opportunity and ran with it."

After falling behind 13-3 in an error-strewn opening, GB recovered with threes from Hesson, Patrick Whelan and Dan Clark in a 15-2 run to take the lead.

Trailing 42-31 at half-time, the hosts had an explosive eight points from Kavell Bigby-Williams in the third quarter and a scoring run of seven points from Hesson in the fourth to keep the deficit as close as 66-58.

Turkey, though, pulled away with a 10-0 run to seal the success, while Bigby-Williams' tally of 12 points was his best in a GB vest.