A media day was held before the National Men’s Basketball Team will play against Bosnia and Herzegovina tomorrow (November 27) in the 1st Round Group C of the 2027 World Cup European Qualifiers.
Turkish Basketball Federation (TBF) President Hidayet Türkoğlu, National Men’s Basketball Team Head Coach Ergin Ataman, National Men’s Basketball Team General Manager Nedim Yücel and national team captain Cedi Osman attended the media day held at the Turkcell Basketball Development Center where the match will be held.
Stating that the national team brought great success to the country after a long time by reaching the finals in the 2025 European Basketball Championship, Hidayet Türkoğlu said, “We are very proud to be a part of this success. I would like to thank our coach, our players and our millions of fans. We will play important matches to make our country feel another pride. First, we will play against Bosnia and Herzegovina, and then against Switzerland. With the broadcast by TRT, millions of fans will support our national team. We have stood behind our team since the first day. We will continue to do so. We have shortcomings, but I think our friends here will also take advantage of this opportunity. I hope our players will achieve success that will make millions proud. he said.
Noting that there will be no players playing in the NBA, Türkoğlu said, “Alperen Şengün and Adem Bona are very important for the offense and defense of this team. Shane Larkin is also one of the important players of this team. These absences are also opportunities for other players. Everyone here deserves to join the national team. These friends of ours also perform well in their clubs.” he said.
NBA EUROPE PROJECT
Stating that the NBA Europe project is very important, Türkoğlu said, “I do not want to talk too harshly here. I do not want to make worthless people valuable. We are trying to explain how valuable the NBA Europe project is. The meaningless ego of the Basketball Europa League inevitably harms European basketball. Our national team formation is also incomplete from time to time. Hopefully, a strong NBA Europe structure will solve all this problem.” he said.
Stating that they enjoyed reaching the finals in the 2025 European Basketball Championship, Türkoğlu said, “We cannot describe the pride our athletes have made us experience. Tomorrow, thousands of basketball fans will support us against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Turkcell Basketball Development Center. Millions of people will be able to watch the match on TRT. For this reason, we would like to thank them. First of all, I would like to thank all the Turkish people who will come here.” he said.
Türkoğlu stated that, as people coming from the basketball industry, they are trying to create opportunities for the athletes and the coaches, and said, “Such successes are achieved through performance. Our athletes are the ones who make us feel proud. Our only chance is that we are now at the head of this management. All the credit goes to our coaches and athletes.” he said.
– Ergin Ataman: “Our goal now is to participate in the World Cup”
National Men’s Basketball Team Head Coach Ergin Ataman stated that the European Championship is behind us and said, “Our goal is to participate in the World Cup now. We are in a difficult group. It is not enough to get out of this group. There are two strong teams in the cross section, Lithuania and Italy. In our group, there are Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Switzerland. We will participate in the World Cup to be held in Qatar in 2027 and try to win a medal there as a European Championship finalist.” he said.
Stating that the preparation period did not go exactly as they wanted, Ataman said:
“This season is a bit strange. The preparation is not complete. Alperen Şengün and Adem Bona in the NBA cannot play in this period. No player in the NBA can play in these window matches. Shane Larkin also has a serious injury. He will be away from the fields for 2-3 months. Cedi Osman also has an injury. He will not be able to play in the match tomorrow. We will try to get him ready for the match against Switzerland. Apart from that, we have players in the squad for the European Championship. This is for us. “We will use Tarık Biberovic as a recruited player in this window. It is an advantage that he played in the European Championship qualifiers last year and he is not a new player.”
Stating that they will train with 12 players for the first time today, the experienced head coach said, “Due to the scheduling conflict of FIBA and Basketball Europa League, three of our very important players in the national team will be in the Monaco-Anadolu Efes match this evening. They will come to Istanbul in the morning. They will play directly in the match tomorrow. None of these will affect our fight in the match. We trust the children. They also felt the image and love of ’12 Giant Men’. They will go on the field with the awareness of this. “Bosnia and Herzegovina is also missing a few important players, but it will definitely be a tough fight.” He commented:
Ataman emphasized that the game plans will not change despite the shortcomings and said, “We will implement our strategy in the European Championship. The absence of Larkin, Cedi Osman and Alperen Şengün will affect our offensive power. Our players who will replace them are also in shape. Tarık Biberovic is in shape. Ömer Faruk Yurtseven also suffered a serious injury. He has not been playing ball for 1 month. He had a groin injury. He will train for the first time today. He will also be training with Sertaç Şanlı. “We think he will fill the number 5 position.” he said.
Stating that they must win the Bosnia and Herzegovina match, Ataman said, “According to FIBA’s rules, if we were European champions, we would play these qualifiers. Unfortunately, the squads playing in the championships are different from the squads played in the matches played during the season. Being the best team in Europe will not give us a ticket to the World Cup. Bosnia and Herzegovina is also a ‘Balkan School’ and that is why we need fan support tomorrow.” he said.
– Cedi Osman: “Tomorrow’s match will be very difficult”
National team captain Cedi Osman stated that they will play two important matches and said, “We want to start our group well. Tomorrow’s match will be very difficult. Bosnia and Herzegovina had reached the last 16 in the European Championship. We are the home team and we want to start with a win in front of our fans. Then, we want to go to Switzerland and win there and start the group with 2 out of 2.” he said.
Noting that they are happy to be together again after the European Championship, Cedi Osman said, “Everyone is very happy to be here, even for a short time. We aim to make it 2 out of 2. We are happy to be here. We also have self-confidence.” he said.
Stating that the fans give strength to the national team in the matches played at the Turkcell Basketball Development Center, the national player said, “They will be with us again in such an important match. We believe in this. Their support is always very important for us. We want to win with our fans tomorrow.” he said.
General Manager of the National Men’s Basketball Team, Nedim Yücel, stated that they had an enjoyable summer and said, “The World Cup qualifiers will not be easy. Every match is very important. We have a short preparation period. The players came here very motivated because they played the finals in the summer. I think the Bosnia and Herzegovina match will be difficult, but I think we will win with this motivation.” he said.
– The national team continued its preparations
The National Men’s Basketball Team continued its preparations with a training session, the first 10 minutes of which were open to the press, at the Turkcell Basktball Development Center before the Bosnia and Herzegovina match tomorrow.
The training, under the management of head coach Ergin Ataman, started with shooting practice. The training was completed with tactical training for the match, following stretching exercises.
Source: AA