European champs Turkey aiming at U19 Final against USA

BANDIRMA (FIBA U19 World Championship) - Turkey will enter the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship as the European champions.

And despite not having played at the U19 Worlds since 2007, the Turks are aiming high this summer - namely a date with reigning champions United States in the Final.

"Our goal is to make it to Final and play against the Americans. To be the best you have to play against the best," said Turkish forward Tolga Gecim.

The 18-year-old very much looks forward to representing his country in Heraklion (Crete), Greece from 27 June-5 July.

The Turks took seventh place when they last place in the tournament eight years ago in Serbia. Their only other participation saw them finish eighth in 2003.

"I am excited and proud to participate. It means that the hard work and all the hours of sacrifice were worth it," said Gecim.

"It's a good success for our country, and I am happy to be a member of this organization."

Gecim was part of the Turkey team which successfully defended its U18 European Championship title last summer, the first time a country has won back-to-back U18 European championships since Yugoslavia in 1986 and 1988.

The Turkish side that completed the title repeat in Konya last year had four players who are two-time U18 European champions - Egemen Guven, who was MVP in 2014, Okben Ulubay, Berk Ugurlu and Ogulcan Baykin.

At 2.03m, Gecim is listed as a small forward but really can control the game like a point guard. The Seyhan native averaged 7.9 points, 3.6 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals last summer. He collected 18 points, six assists and four rebounds in Turkey’s victory over Serbia in the final.

"Tolga is a great guy and a very good player who is improving each day," said Omer Ugurata, who coached the Turkish U18 team last summer and is billed to be the man in charge in Greece.

I believe Tolga will be one of the leaders of the team on the offensive side. He is very effective in the open court and creates a lot for others in the half court. - Ugurata

"He is playing in a very good organization (Banvit Bandirma) with good players and a very good coach. I know that coach (Zoran) Lukic makes him practice extra with the other young players of the team for his improvement. He is also getting better physically each day."

Gecim has had an up-and-down season thus far in his first campaign with Banvit's professional team. He is averaging 2.4 points, 1.9 assists and 1.2 rebounds in 14 Turkish league (TBL) games. He has received playing time in the Eurocup and is averaging 1.6 points, 1.4 assists and 1.1 rebounds.

But he shined in mid-December when he was given substantial playing time. He put up 10 points, nine assists and four rebounds in 32 minutes against Fenerbahce Ulker on December 14. Four days earlier, in a Eurocup clash against Lietuvos Rytas, he collected 10 points, six rebounds and three assists in 38 minutes.

"I tried my best for my team. This is my year of adapting to the team. I am sure next year I will have more responsibility," said Gecim.

His playing time has gone back down again, with a total of only 24 minutes in four TBL games since December 24. In his five Eurocup games since the start of 2015, Gecim has played just 21 minutes.

"I did my job in the game when I was playing. It was the decision of our head coach. I learned to be patient - and work more than everyone else."

When asked what he's working on in his game, Gecim said: "I'm working on the tops of my legs and my shot. I think I have good court vision so I can play pick-and-roll offense well. I have problems with my defense, but I am working on getting better."

While he is playing with and against players from around the world in the TBL and Eurocup, he will face his first non-European competition at the youth level this summer.

"This will be a first for me. I am a little bit excited for this. We can beat other teams. I believe that because we are really good and strong team," said Gecim.

When asked who he sees as the other top teams at the U19 Worlds, Gecim said: "I don't know yet. We will see what the biggest challenge is together."

FIBA