For the last few months, whenever I would go to the movies there would be a promo before the movie started for the 2010 FIBA. This year, for the first time, it was held here in Istanbul. I do enjoy basketball, so I was planning on maybe going to a US game or something. When I looked at the initial schedule, the only game I was going to be able to attend was the US vs. ??? some country I don’t think I had ever heard of! So, I spared myself the money. By the time the tournament came around, Aug. 28th, I was so preoccupied with many other things that I had pretty much forgotten about it.
Well, a few days before the big final I started catching on. I knew the US would still be in the tournament…they are pretty much unstoppable. But, what was surprising was that Turkey was still in it as well! People around here really started getting interested in the game. The night of the Semi-finals with Turkey vs Serbia, the family went out and left me with the little one. After I successfully put her to bed, I turned on the game and really was able to watch. My, oh my, what a great game. Serbia was ahead for pretty much the entire game, but Turkey was always just a few points behind. I thought that it could be a sad end for Turkey. But, then with just 4 minutes left in the game there was a sudden burst of energy from Turkey and all was not lost! It was incredible! I could not believe what I was seeing. Shots were made when they seemed too impossible. Points that seemed easy were missed by Serbia. And with just a few seconds left in the game, Turkey scored a 3 point shot that put them over the top. They were able to hold on to that victory for the final 4 seconds that Serbia had to score. Amazing! I could hear people screaming in their homes along our street as they watched this victory! Thankfully, there were no vuvuzulas!
That then left me in a bit of a dilemma… Turkey would play the US for the championship. I thought, what are the chances? This was Turkey’s first time in the final 4 even, and here I am in Istanbul, where the games are being held, watching my home country playing the country I was living it. I didn’t know who to root for! Well, that quickly changed as I remembered I am a proud American that would never root for another team. So, on Sept 12th, I crossed my fingers and hoped watching the game with my Turkish boss would not be a mistake. I may be an American that can’t wait to go home, but I really wasn’t ready to go home yet!
The final game was pretty exciting. I did worry at the beginning because the US were getting a lot of fouls called on them. It probably was a normal amount, considering there are always fouls made by teams and players, but I was feeling particularly edgy, so any aggression my team was showing made me think that I looked like the villain. The first half of the game was pretty close. Turkey was keeping up, which was great but also stressful. I wanted the win! At around halftime, the US started to pull ahead. It was beginning to be clear that the US would take Turkey. While it was sad to see Turkey start to really lose, I was beginning to feel more relieved because I knew that with as many fouls as were called earlier, it was really becoming apparent that the US was the better team. I was grateful that in the end it was not a close game, but one that was won with a 81-64 victory! Even with the loss, Turkey played great and made it to their first championship game in the history of the country! Way to go Turkey! And, although the US, in my mind, is the best team in the world, I was surprised to learn that this championship was the first for the USA in 16 years (though, the game is only played every 4 years)! GO USA!!!
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