Alben to lead Turkey in Tenerife
ISTANBUL (FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2018) - Fan favorite Isil Alben will lead Turkey into the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2018 in Tenerife after being the standout name in an 18-player squad.
With the legendary duo Nevriye Yilmaz and Birsel Vardarli Demirmen having both retired in recent years, it is the Galatasaray guard who will be expected to shoulder the main responsibility for her country at the prestigious event.
| Turkey 18-player squad for FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2018 | |||
| Melis Gulcan | Melike Bakircioglu | Elif Emirtekin | Tugce Canitez |
| Pelin Derya Bilgic | Esra Ural Topuz | Tilbe Senyurek | Ayse Cora |
| IsIl Alben | Gizem Basaran | Merve Aydin | Ilayda Guner |
| Asena Yalcin | Olcay Cakir Turgut | Quanitra Hollingworth | Bahar Caglar |
| Cansu Koksal | Funda Nakkasoglu | ||
In addition to Alben, it will be the naturalized Quanitra Hollingsworth who will be the focal point in the paint. Despite having stepped out at several Women's EuroBasket tournaments, the center had not played at the last few global events for Turkey, but now takes the reins from Lara Sanders.
In addition to Alben, there are also a number of survivors from the previous Women's Basketball World Cup during 2014, which Turkey hosted and saw them reach the Semi-Finals. These include Tugce Canitez, Bahar Caglar and Cansu Koksal.
In case you forgot: The leading returning 👌-pt shooter in the @SEC is super senior, Funda Nakkasoglu. Cannot wait to 👀 more 👌's 🔜. pic.twitter.com/UpcwtmaAXr
— Gators Women’s Basketball (@GatorsWBK) May 15, 2018
The most notable new face is the free-scoring NCAA guard Funda Nakkasoglu, who has been highly productive at the University of Florida.
There are also high hopes for Ilyada Guner, who recently made the All-Star Five at the FIBA U20 Women's European Championship Division B.
FIBA
