INQUIRER Sports

ISTANBUL?(UPDATE) Slovenia and Turkey routed their opponents in the round of 16 on Sunday to set up a quarter-final encounter at the world basketball championships.

Australia were completely out-muscled by Slovenia who won with ease 87-58 while Turkey cruised to a 95-77 win over France.

Australia started slowly and would never completely recover, failing to score a point in the first six and a half minutes and shooting at just 22 percent from the field for the first half.

The Australian shooting was much more accurate early in the second half as they looked to spark a revival.

Unfortunately for them, Slovenia also lifted their shooting accuracy.

"We got outplayed in the first quarter and struggled to get back in - there was too much pressure on the inexperienced guys," said Australia captain Matthew Nielsen.

Slovenia player Uros Slokar was full of praise for the steps forward his team has made at these championships.

"At the beginning of this national team cycle we wanted to make the quarters. Now we have made it," he said.

"We have achieved more than the previous world championships and this is the most important thing as we have made one step forward."

Portland Trailblazers' Patrick Mills and Joseph Ingles both finished with 13 points for Australia while Nielson scored 12.

Jako Lakovic ended the game as leading scorer with 19 points while Milwaukee Bucks' Primoz Brezec also chipped in with 12 points for Slovenia.

Although the second game of the day began as a close encounter, Turkey were able to build of the support of their frenzied home crowd, pulling away to win 95-77.

After a tight opening quarter, 24 points from the Turkish in the second saw them pull out to a 48-23 lead at half-time.

Like the Australians, the French could not break down the deficit in the second half, with too many turnovers damaging any realistic chances they had of fighting their way back.

A poor finish to the first half continued into the start of the second for France as Turkey were able to put 16 unanswered points on them, eliminating any chance of a comeback.

When the final buzzer sounded, Turkey were deserved winners.

Turkey's Toronto Raptor star Hidayet Turkoglu rode on the home crowd support, leading his team with 20 points, while Sinan Guler chipped in with 17.

Turkish coach Bogdan Tanjevic acknowledged the strong start to the second half as the key to his team's success.

"The start of the second half was important. We made a big sprint with 10 points and this was good for my heart as I was able to rest more," he said.