TUR – Ivegin aims for London

LODZ (EuroBasket Women 2011) - Everything has changed.

Two years ago, the hurt on the face of Saziye Ivegin said it all.

Turkey’s 86-70 defeat to Belarus in the Arena Riga at the EuroBasket Women in Latvia was a hammer blow.

The loss prevented Turkey from reaching the Quarter-Finals.

They had hosted the EuroBasket Women in 2005 and reached the last eight, but in Chieti, Italy, two years later, Turkey finished joint-ninth with the tournament hosts.

Hopes were high that in Latvia, Turkey would make it back to the last eight but that meant beating Belarus on June 16, 2009, in the Quarter-Final Qualifying Round.

Belarus had established themselves as a force in international basketball, winning bronze at the EuroBasket Women in 2007 and then competing at the Olympics in Beijing the following year.

Once the Belarusians got their noses in front in the first quarter of their game against Turkey in Latvia, Ivegin and her teammates battled yet only fell further and further behind.

Ivegin cried after the loss and still had tears in her eyes after leaving the changing room in Riga.

It’s now 2011 and in the sweetest of turnarounds, Turkey have reached the Quarter-Finals.

They followed up a 64-58 defeat to Lithuania in their EuroBasket Women 2011 opener by routing Slovakia, 76-60.

After being thumped by Russia, Turkey went down 56-51 to the Czech Republic to leave their hopes of advancing hanging by a thread.

Ceyhun Yildizoglu’s team grinded out a 64-57 victory over Great Britain and then on Monday, facing those same Belarus players that had piled on the agony in Riga, Turkey won a do-or-die game.

Ivegin hit a three-pointer to give Turkey a 7-6 lead and then buried another to make it 15-8.

She popped another to extend the advantage to 21-12 and then, to cap the most important offensive sequence in her career, Ivegin drilled yet another for a 24-14 lead with 16 seconds still to play in the opening frame.

Belarus did come back to tie the game, but Ivegin’s scoring burst had given Turkey the platform for victory they’d needed.

The last thing Yildizoglu had wanted was to fall behind early.

Ivegin ended up playing 37 minutes and scoring a game-high 17 points while also pulling down six rebounds.

The triumph secured fourth place in Round 2, Group E, and threw Turkey into the Quarter-Final Round for the first time in their history.

If they upset Montenegro, the EuroBasket Women’s only unbeaten team, Turkey will advance to the Semi-Finals and seal a spot in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women.

Should they lose, but then win a couple of Classification Round games to finish fifth, Ivegin and Co will still advance to the Olympic qualifiers.

On the eve of yet another crucial game with Turkey, Ivegin spoke to Jeff Taylor for FIBA.com.

FIBA: Saziye, what was the feeling after the victory over Belarus - relief, happiness that you have made it to the Quarter-Finals for the first time?
Saziye: Yes, it was hard for us because we lost two games in our group so God gave us a last chance, it was the Belarus game. And then we beat them. We remembered the last Championship, 2009, and they beat us and we had to go back home. This year is amazing because now we'll play in the Quarter-Finals.

FIBA: There has been talk in Turkey of wanting to build momentum ahead of hosting the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women. Did that put additional pressure on the women's team coming into this Championship?
Saziye: We didn't feel that much pressure but we wanted to be among the last eight teams because the three previous times (in the EuroBasket Women) we lost, we came up short. I think the first time in our country, 2005, then Italy and the last time in Latvia. This time, we really wanted it. We didn't think about 2014, but just wanted it for us, for our team and for all women in Turkey.

FIBA: You really set the tone for Turkey with that great first quarter against Belarus. What do you remember about that?
Saziye: I started so bad in this tournament, but I know my best and I feel comfortable so I had to do this. The last practice before that game, my teammates had said, "Don't think about whether you are going to miss it or make it, just shoot the ball" and I had some success.

FIBA: Saziye, the Championship only gets tougher because you face Montenegro and they’ve yet to lose. But then again, you beat a team (Belarus) that almost reached the Final of the 2010 FIBA World Championship for Women. So you must pretty good about your chances?
Saziye: We'll play against Montenegro. We played against them last year two times. This year, we played them twice in friendly games and we know them, they know us. It will be a hard game, like a Final, because they play so hard like us. But we never quit and if we win the next game, I believe we will get to the Final.

FIBA: Less than a year ago, all eyes were on Turkey because the country hosted the men’s FIBA World Championship. How did that event impact you and your teammates?
Saziye: They (the men) said they played the game for the Turkish women in the country, too, and our federation did a great job of getting the 2014 World Championship in our own country (In March, the FIBA Central Board voted in favor of Turkey hosting the 2014 event).

FIBA: If you do beat Montenegro, or at least finish fifth, Turkey will go to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women. Have you even allowed yourself to think about the possibility of playing at the London Games?
Saziye: We want to go to London. If we win just one game. Our goal - everyone dreams about this - is about going to London. We have put in a lot of hard work for this.

FIBA