NEWS

The successes of Fenerbahçe Ülker, Beşiktaş Cola Turka and Galatasaray Café Crown in the European Cup have triggered an improvement in the quality of our league. An assessment by ULEB has included Turkey as one of the world’s four best leagues, along with the NBA, Euroleague and Spain.  An important reason for this is the significant financial contributions made by the sponsors of both the league and individual clubs.  As a result, our league is galvanized and unstoppable. It’s moving into Europe. Fenerbahçe Ülker’s Coach, Bogdan Tanjeviç is certain that the advance of the “Big Three” to the quarter finals is a huge achievement: “This great success has shown that we have Turkish teams on the level of the National Team that will take back the cups it has lost and, with this kind of acceleration, propel Turkish basketball to the top.”

WE ARE GOING TO EUROPE PREPARED

Reminding us that the league closed out last season with two losses, Tanjeviç stated, “there are 5 weeks left in the leagues season, we have had 8 defeats.  Other teams are in the same boat as we are. When strong teams who are at the bottom of the league defeat top teams, that is how the quality of the league improves. This was reflected in our successes in Europe. The Turkish coaches display all their skills in this difficult league.  Our teams which are competing in Europe and the league are getting much better training for these difficult matches.

That’s why we are going to Europe well-prepared.”  Tanjeviç spoke about Beşiktaş and Galatasaray’s duels in Europe, saying, “In Turkey I really feel like I am a Turk.  I want with all my heart to see Beşiktaş and Galatasaray advance to the top in Europe. Beşiktaş and Galatasaray are very strong teams. I would say each has a 50% chance of winning a duel.”

SIENA’S TEAM IS WEAK

Ergin Ataman, who spent one season with Siena had this to say about Fenerbahçe’s competitor: “When I arrived at Siena, there was no enthusiasm for the game of basketball. They had no success. We brought the excitement back, won the Saporta Cup and drew the spectators back to the stadium.  Siena’s fans are aggressive and knowledgeable, just like Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş fans. Kaukenas is injured and won’t be able to play. That’s an advantage for Fenerbahçe. Compared to Fenerbahçe players, Siena’s players are not as tall. Fenerbahçe’s height will give them an edge over Siena and I think that advantage could be one of the factors that will bring them success.