EUROBASKET 2011

Hedo Turkoglu will have his hands full when he matches up against Luol Deng

Turkey v Great Britain - Thursday at 17:45 (16:45 CET)

The sight of a team from the United Kingdom wouldn't have sent shivers down the spine of most teams in the old days.

But it's 2011 and for the second straight EuroBasket, Great Britain have a team in the Final Round and this time, Luol Deng is in the squad.

The Chicago Bulls forward, injured and unavailable when the Brits made their EuroBasket bow in 2009 in Poland, is in the fold this time and no team had better take this team lightly.

Team GB led hosts Lithuania on Wednesday in the fourth quarter before falling, 80-69.

If Turkey are not shaking in their boots, they will at least have a healthy respect for the British team.

"Every rival at the EuroBasket is difficult and Great Britain have good players," said Turkey's rookie center, Enes Kanter.

Britain are not a one-man team, either.

The side has experience in the frontline with Joel Freeland, Robert Archibald and Dan Clark, players who compete at the highest level in Spain's ACB.

And the squad has weapons in the backcourt as well with Mike Lenzly and veteran Nate Reinking.

Britain also have a highly-rated coach, Chris Finch.

Turkey, however, made a loud statement last year when they hosted the FIBA World Championship.

Led by star Hedo Turkoglu, a deep and talented team made it all the way to the gold-medal game before falling to the United States and on Wednesday, they brushed aside Portugal.

Head to Head: Great Britain played in their first EuroBasket in 2009 and did not face Turkey.

Last Time Out: Turkey crushed Portugal 79-56 while Great Britain fell 80-69 to Lithuania.

Key Match-Up: Luol Deng v Hedo Turkoglu. Deng pulled down 10 rebounds and had a game-high 25 points in the defeat to t Lithuania but shot just eight for 22 (36%) from the floor.

Key Stat: Turkey were 30 of 59 (51%) from the floor against Portugal, with young center Kanter seven of nine (78%).

X-Factor: Great Britain's Mike Lenzly. If he gets hot, he can cause a lot of problems. He was shut out against Lithuania, although he took just two shots.

Sounding Off: "Turkey are a similar team to Lithuania in that they have a lot of depth and size. We need to push the ball well, have a good bench performance and finish better. Hopefully the shots will go in against Turkey" - Great Britain coach Chris Finch.