Turkey’s Renewed Potanın Perileri Exit World Cup After Loss to Puerto Rico

Turkey’s women’s national basketball team left the FIBA 2026 Women’s Basketball World Cup without a win after Puerto Rico overturned a late lead and won 75-71 in the final Group C game.

Turkey started strongly from behind the three-point line and led 20-19 after the first quarter, with Sevgi Uzun scoring 10 points in the period. The team tightened its defense and shared the ball effectively in the second quarter, building a six-point lead at 35-29 in the 18th minute before taking a 40-37 advantage into halftime.

Turkey continued to control the game early in the second half. Strong rebounding and efficient shooting helped it move eight points ahead at 51-43 in the 25th minute, and the national team entered the final quarter leading 58-51.

Puerto Rico changed the momentum immediately, opening the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run and moving ahead 59-58 in the 32nd minute. It extended the lead to seven points at 67-60 with three minutes remaining. Turkey fought back to within two, but its late effort fell short. Sevgi Uzun led Turkey with 18 points, while Elif Bayram scored 13 before leaving early in the fourth quarter with a left-wrist injury after falling while attempting to collect an offensive rebound.

Belgium beat Australia 80-68 to finish first with a perfect record and advance directly to the quarterfinals. Australia finished second and will play a quarterfinal qualifying game, while Puerto Rico took third place and earned the same opportunity. Turkey finished fourth and was eliminated.