×
30 August, 2014
14 September
Turkey (TUR)
27/08/2014
News
to read

Team in focus - Turkey

ISTANBUL (FIBA Basketball World Cup) - The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup is just around the corner. In the lead-up to the biggest international basketball event, we take an individual look at all 24 teams.

Country: Turkey
FIBA bwin Ranking Men: No. 7
Last participation in the FIBA Basketball World Cup: 2010 (8 wins, 1 defeats; 2nd place)
Best result in the history of the FIBA Basketball World Cup: 2nd Place (2010)
Result in qualifying tournament for 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup: 17th place at EuroBasket 2013 (1 wins, 4 defeats; Turkey received wild card)

Just four years ago, the Turkish national team ran roughshod over opponents on its way to the last four of the FIBA World Championship in Istanbul and then edged an overtime thriller against Serbia to reach the Final.

Despite a heavy defeat to the United States in the title game, the overall performance in 2010 was deemed a success.

The Turkey squad at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain may have more in common with the country's side that reached the Quarter-Finals of the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan.

That team went into the 24-team tournament in the Far East as underdogs because at EuroBasket 2005 in Serbia and Montenegro, they had disappointed.

Turkey had needed, just as they did this year, a wild card to play in Japan.

With NBA players Hedo Turkoglu and Mehmet Okur absent, Turkey's second-place finish in the 'Group of Death' (Group C) in Hamamatsu was an overachievement.

What the 2014 team has that the 2006 edition did not is plenty of experience.

Some of the players on the national team that is now coached by Ergin Ataman were with Turkey in 2010 when they reached the Final.

Omer Asik, Kerem Tunceri, Sinan Guler, Ender Arslan, Oguz Savas, Kerem Gonlum, Cenk Akyol and Baris Ermis were in the squad that won knockout games against France, Slovenia and Serbia before falling to the Kevin Durant-inspired United States in the Sinan Erdem Dome.

They know very well what type of effort and concentration is needed to be successful in Bilbao, Spain, where they will play in the Group Stage.

One of the three players in this year's squad who did not experience 2010, Emir Preldzic, will be counted on to provide a lot of offense for Turkey.

Just as 2006 was the time that a teenager named Ersan Ilyasova revealed his talents to the world, so may 2014 be the chance for U20 European Championship MVP Cedi Osman to show what he has to offer at senior level.

A player who runs like a gazelle and thrives in the open court, Osman played in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague with Anadolu Efes in the 2013-14 season.

He won't be intimidated in the slightest in a Group C that includes the USA, New Zealand, Ukraine, the Dominican Republic and Finland.

Expectations, because of the need for a wild card to take part, may not be high for Turkey.

But with giant NBA center Asik patrolling the interior and plenty of other experienced players in the team, as well as a very talented coach in Ataman, the national side does have the potential to have a good run at the World Cup.

FIBA