Elphinston praised Kayseri, which is hosting Group A games in the championship. The federation was impressed with Turkey’s young population and hard-working spirit in 2004 when they picked Turkey to host the world championship, Elphinston said during a meeting with Kayseri Deputy Mayor Serdar Altuntug on Monday.Elphinston added that the federation was also impressed by the importance the Turkish government and local administrations placed on the event.
Kayseri was not originally supposed to host the championship, but it became involved in the bid when problems occurred with the construction of an arena in the Mediterranean province of Antalya, Elphinston noted.
Now with the start of the championship, the federation had once again seen how right its choice of Kayseri was, Elphinston said.
The FIBA 2010 World Championship, the largest basketball event on the planet, was officially opened with a spectacular ceremony in İstanbul on Friday and games kicked off in İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir and Kayseri on Saturday.
This is the first time Turkey has hosted a basketball tournament of such a magnitude. The tournament will conclude on Sept. 12.
