Despite resting key players, Turkey eases past winless Qatar
HAMAMATSU, Japan -- Engin Atsur scored 12 points and Turkey, which has already qualified for the second round of the World Championship, beat winless Qatar 76-69 Wednesday.
Turkey (4-0) used its key players sparinging with 10 of its 12 players seeing action.
Ali Saeed led Qatar (0-4), with 20 points while Abdul Ali added 15.
Qatar trailed 65-49 at the end of the third quarter but made a game of it in the fourth, outscoring Turkey 20-11 and pulling to within five points with two minutes to go.
Turkey plays Greece on Thursday night to close out the preliminary round in a match that will decide first place in Group C.
Qatar won the bronze medal at the Asian championships last year in Doha to qualify for the world titles for the first time.
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