TUR - Tired Turkey not worried about early losses

BAMBERG (EuroBasket 2011) – Turkey slumped to a 1-2 record at the BEKO Supercup in Bamberg but national team head coach Orhun Ene is not worried after a long training camp and only recently getting some injured stars back to his rotation.

Turkey squeezed a 66-60 comeback victory over Belgium between a 62-38 thrashing by Greece and a 64-52 defeat against Germany.

"We are a little bit tired right now, so we are not focusing just on playing these preparation games," said Ene.

"We had a tough preparation. We are a little bit late compared to other teams. But every day I believe that we will do better things on the basketball court. We are not in the rhythm.”

The Turkish boss about 10 days ago saw Semih Erden and Omer Asik return from injuries. And the NBA centres are not the only two players not yet in their rhythm.

“Also our perimeter players are not in the rhythm either. They will play better soon. They will find their rhythm and we can see ourselves clearly after 10 days. But this is not the right time to judge ourselves,” said Ene in Bamberg.

The coach and his staff had prior to the Bamberg event worked extensively on the team’s conditioning as the EuroBasket will be longer than ever with up to 11 games in 19 days since the tournament was expanded from 16 to 24 teams.

The team’s physical state is the main change Ene wants to implement as compared to the 2010 FIBA World Championship where Turkey captured the silver medal with Ene as assistant coach.

“We are going to play with the same organization defensively and offensively. This year the tournament is 11 games. Physically we have to be prepared better than last year. That’s important,” said Ene.

The coach also made it no secret what his team’s goal will be in Lithuania.

“For everybody in Europe like us also, we are thinking about the Olympics and the chance to at least play in the tournament before the Olympics,” said Ene.

Turkey have not reached the Olympics since 1952 when they took 17th place.

“This generation of players finished second at EuroBasket 2001 and second in 2010 (FIBA World Championship). But we have never participated in the Olympics in this era. That’s why it is so important to reach the Olympics.”

Ene added: “The most beautiful thing for me was always the opening ceremony. That is the most proud moment for a sportsman in the world.”

FIBA