WIN a trip to the FIBA World Championship Finals weekend

ANKARA (FIBA World Championship) - Ersan Ilyasova's MVP performance at the U20 European Championship Men in Izmir has given him a chance of playing for the senior team in Japan next month.

The 6ft 9in forward, a second round pick of the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2005 NBA draft who spent last season in the National Basketball Developmental League with Tulsa, averaged 17.4 points and 7.1 rebounds in eight games for the under-20 side. He had 21 points in their narrow 64-58 defeat to Serbia & Montenegro in the final.

Ilyasova is among five of the U20 players who will attempt to make the Turkey squad for the FIBA World Championship in the Far East.

Cenk Akyol, a member of the U20 All-Tournament team in Ankara, along with fellow guard Hakan Demirel, and centers Omer Faruk Asik, Oguz Savas and Semih Erden are all in the Turkish squad and will be available for duty in this week's Efes Pilsen Tournament in Ankara.
Turkey, who received a wild card for this year's big event after failing to qualify at the EuroBasket, are in Group C with Australia, Greece, Lithuania, Qatar and Brazil.

PA Sport
Exclusively for FIBA