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Turkey faces Lithuania in opening match of EuroBasket 2009 today
The other Group D match today pits the Poles against the Bulgarians. The Turks, vying for honors in the biennial European competition, take on Lithuania this evening in their opening game of the championship. Turkey, according to head coach Bogdan Tanjevic, has been training for more than 45 days for this all-important competition.
The 12 Giant Men are at times called the “12 Brave Hearts,” after the young and depleted team's exhilarating performance at the 2006 World Championship in Japan.
The Turks clinched the Game On crown in the warm-up tournament that was held in London last month -- beating Poland 66-58 in the final. They had beaten Israel 85-69 and Britain 70-63 on their way to the final.
But in the recent Efes Pilsen World Cup 8 basketball tournament in Ankara, the 12 Giant Men lost their first two matches -- against Croatia and Germany -- and missed out on the semifinals of the competition. Turkey started with Kerem Tunçeri, Ömer Onan, Hidayet “Hedo” Türkoğlu, Oğuz Savaş and Fatih Solak, but the team looked lethargic. Tanjevic may make some changes to his starting line-up.
Tanjevic has pledged to win back the hearts of Turkish fans at EuroBasket 2009 after the Efes Pilsen World Cup debacle. “I know the fans who came to the Atatürk Sports Hall in Ankara were highly disappointed,” he said. “We will be playing our World Basketball Championship group matches there. We let our fans down in Ankara, but we will do everything possible to appease them by playing well at the Euros,” he further asserted.
The Turkish EuroBasket 2009 roster comprises Ender Arslan (Efes Pilsen), Ömer Aşık (Fenerbahçe Ülker), Engin Atsur (Beşiktaş Cola Turka), Semih Erden (Fenerbahçe Ülker), Sinan Güler (Efes Pilsen), Barış Hersek (Bandırma Banvit), Ersan İlyasova (Milwaukee Bucks), Ömer Onan (Fenerbahçe Ülker), Savaş (Fenerbahçe Ülker), Tunceri (Efes Pilsen), Türkoğlu (Toronto Raptors) and Bekir Yarangüme (Türk Telekom).
This means Tanjevic has plenty of ammunition at his disposal even though Mehmet Okur has been dropped by Tanjevic for “intransigence,” Kerem Gönlüm suspended after testing positive for a banned substance and Cevher Özer removed from the national squad due to his recurrent knee injury.
Turkey could become the most pleasant surprise at EuroBasket 2009, according to a report on euroleague.net. “Fenerbahçe Ülker centers Semih Erden, Omer Aşık and Oğuz Savaş are ready to prove their value with head coach Bogdan Tanjevic knowing everything about them. Ersan İlyasova will see most minutes at power forward alongside Turkey's superstar swingman Hedo Türkoğlu. Playmakers Kerem Tunceri and Ender Arslan of Efes Pilsen are ready to share the point guard duties, while Tanjevic has a lot of options at the wings. Tanjevic can play big with İlyasova and Türkoğlu outside or opt for elite defensive players like Sinan Güler or Ömer Onan, full of intensity at both ends,” the Web site writes.
The Turks finished sixth at the Worlds three years ago, and Tanjevic has said finishing in the top four at the Euros would not be considered a bad result.
As for Lithuania, basketball is everything. The tiny country has had success over the years on the international arena. However, a number of key players are not on its EuroBasket 2009 roster, including Darius Songaila, Sarunas Jasikevicius and Rimantas Kaukenas and Ramunas Siskauskas. The 12 Giant Men can capitalize on this.
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