On Wednesday, Furkan Korkmaz dropped a game-high 20 points and Alperen Sengun added seven points and seven rebounds to lead Turkey to an 87-70 victory over the Czech Republic in the Olympic qualifying tournament from Victoria, British Columbia.
Sengun finished the contest by converting on 3-of-7 shot attempts from the field while adding four assists, two steals and one blocked shot in 19 minutes of work. He did the majority of his work in the paint, often taking advantage of smaller defenders down low.
Turkey improved to 2-0 in the Olympic qualifying tournament and clinched a spot in the semifinal with the win on Wednesday. One additional country from their group will advance to the semifinal, which will also feature Canada and either Greece or China.
The winner will claim one of four remaining spots in the Tokyo Olympics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj21iR1nbBs
The performance by Sengun followed up a strong debut in the Olympic qualifying tournament on Tuesday, in which he recorded 15 points and seven rebounds. The event is the second that Sengun has competed in with the Turkish senior team.
Of course, Sengun is projected to be a lottery pick this year in the NBA draft. He was named the 2020-21 Turkish BSL MVP after averaging 19.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.3 steals in 29 games with Besiktas last season.
He is widely considered one of the most versatile bigs in the draft this year with his ability to score in the paint and create for his teammates. His overall skill set has been on full display during the tournament so far and the games will give him an opportunity to further showcase his ability.
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Turkey will face either Greece or China in the semifinal on Saturday.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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