The game everyone has been eagerly anticipating in Group C will be a must-see as Turkey take on rivals and neighbours Greece on Tuesday night.

(Find out where to watch the Greece-Turkey game live or discuss in our forum!)

The two teams enter the contest with perfect records (2-0) and neither side will settle for anything less than a win. The result of this game is likely to have a huge bearing on the pool’s final standings.

Greece head coach Jonas Kazlauskas tried to downplay the rivalry and the importance of the derby to put the focus back where he felt it belongs – on the fixture being just one of five in his team’s march to the next round.

“I understand the importance of the games between Greece and Turkey. It is like the games we had between Lithuania and Russia,” he said. “But at the same time it’s one game.”

Kazlauskas’s words though will fall on deaf ears among the Turkish supporters.

Turkey have all the motivation in the world for this game. Of course they are playing at home and want to give their fans something to cheer about, but they would like to get a measure of revenge over the Greeks for last summer’s EuroBasket quarter-final defeat.

Erden Arslan sent that game to overtime with a lay-up at the end of regulation but then missed a potential game-winning three-pointer in the dying seconds.

Greece will get a huge lift with the return to action of team captain Antonios Fotsis and Sofoklis Schortsanitis, who missed the first two games through suspensions.

Efstratios Perperoglou sat out Monday’s practice because of an infection but is expected to recover and play.

Before the derby, Puerto Rico will approach their game against China as a must-win situation following tough defeats against Russia and Greece over the weekend.

“We have to make sure we beat China,” said guard JJ Barea who has had to carry the scoring load, especially after backcourt mate Carlos Arroyo went down with an injury.

“After that we have to come out and play against Turkey, do our best and see what happens. We have to take care of the Ivory Coast next time. If we win two games and China lose the rest of theirs, we will move on to the next round. That is what we are looking for.”

Arroyo has internal bleeding in his left quadriceps. There is no exact timetable as to when he can be expected back.

China will have to do a better job of closing out the game against Manolo Cintron’s side than they did against Ivory Coast. Leading 66-51 to start the fourth quarter, they ended up winning by a margin of 83-73 which was not very convincing.

Tuesday’s action will begin with Russia taking on Ivory Coast as they look to bounce back from their 65-56 defeat against Turkey.

The game will feature the return of the teams’ respective key players – Viktor Khryapa for the Russians and Pape-Philippe Amagou for the Ivorians.

“Viktor will play on Tuesday,” Russia head coach David Blatt said on Sunday. “We need him for the last three games to make sure we get through to the next round.”

The versatile forward missed the tournament’s first three games because of an injury to his left foot.

Amagou, meanwhile, has recovered from a sprained big toe and will regain his rightful place in his team’s starting backcourt, an area which suffered greatly in his absence.

“We were mentally ready but we did not perform well in the first two games. We lost one of our best players (Amagou) and then our other point guard (Issife Soumahoro) got injured against Turkey,” said head coach Randoald Dessarzin.

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