Group F, Day 6 Turkey vs Slovenia

[Lethalizer]

Tanjevıc saıd that he can rest some of hıs players so we shouldnt be surprısed.

I also thınk that Hedo should be rested, he can play but ıf I were Tanjevıc I d not gıve hım more than 10 mınutes not because of hıs bad perfermance but because hıs ınjury should be healed for the quarterfınal match.

And I really belıeve that we can beat Slovenıa even wıthout Hedo. Actually other than Turkey I thınk the best team so far ıs Slovenıa. But we are the best team ın defence by far.

Well wyopeq, I think France's defense in this tournament has been better than ours.

[wyopeq]

Well wyopeq, I think France's defense in this tournament has been better than ours.

I dont thınk so. They played much more weaker teams than us.

[PieR]

W Slovenia

[AiwiTo]

i would bet for turkey, they are playing very well till now.
51-49 for them.
this would be great match, and i hope i could see it in any live stream.

[coolstuff]

i would bet for turkey, they are playing very well till now.
51-49 for them.
this would be great match, and i hope i could see it in any live stream.

do you have satellite receiver on your TV?

[AiwiTo]

do you have satellite receiver on your TV?

no, i haven't, i hope i will see it through the internet, maybe justin tv, if the translation quality will be fine.

[purple]

no, i haven't, i hope i will see it through the internet, maybe justin tv, if the translation quality will be fine.

http://www.atdhe.net/

try this one, usually it works..

[ataman5]

The article is from the Eurobasket 2009 official site.


Ilyasova: 'We Believe We Can Win'

16 September 2009
By Simon Wilkinson


It's been a while since Turkey last had something to smile about at the EuroBasket, but as they prepare to face Slovenia on Wednesday in the last game of the Qualifying Round, they are safe in the knowledge that they will be returning to the knockout stages for the first time in eight years.

In 2001, on their home soil, the Turks got all the way to the final only to lose to mighty Yugoslavia.

Despite the 78-69 defeat, the silver medal finish was the country's best achievement in the competition. As such, it was cause for optimism and the future was looking bright.


Many things have changed but Bogdan Tanjevic is still in charge of Turkey.
However, early exits in the next three EuroBaskets (2003, 2005 and 2007) cast some dark clouds over the national team and, after they finished 11th with a 1-5 mark in Spain two years ago, it was clear that radical change was needed.

A massive clear-out took place: out went the likes of Ibrahim Kutulay and Serkan Erdogan (deemed too old to be a part of the future) as well as Mehmet Okur (at loggerheads with coach Bogdan Tanjevic) and Cenk Akyol (in a downward spiral for the last three years), making way for promising younger players like Sinan Guler, Omer Asik and Semih Erden to stake their claims.

The revamp worked to great effect right away as Turkey won all six of their games in last year's Qualification Round to book their place in Poland.

And happy days are still in effect. Their five wins so far in the tournament are one more than the total number of victories accumulated from their previous three EuroBasket appearances (four).

So, seeing it from the inside, what is so drastically different?

"This year we've become a real team," said Ersan Ilyasova, who leads the team in scoring (17.6) and rebounding (7.4) and is an early candidate for best player of the tournament honours.

"Every player brings something to the team. That's very important. All 12 players are crucial to our success. Belief is an important aspect too. Whenever we step out on that court, we believe that we can win the game and ultimately the championship."

With the World Championships coming their way next year, Turkey are eager to prove what they are worth, to themselves of course, but also to those who will be lining up to watch them.

"It's important to put in a good performance ahead of the World Championships in our country. We want to do well here so that we can give hope to our fans and show them we will be one of the favourites for that tournament. It will be a huge occasion for us," Ilyasova added.

Despite the fact that, as hosts, Turkey have an automatic berth for the World Championships, the Milwaukee Bucks forward isn't satisfied in seeing his team just round up the numbers for the knockout stages in Poland.

"We have done a very good job to come here and win our first five games but our job isn't done," he warned. "Now we have to focus on the game against Slovenia to determine who finishes first in the group. It won't be easy because they have a lot of good outside shooters. But if we play good pick and roll defense we should be fine and have a chance to win the game and it would be a great way to get into the next round."

From a personal standpoint, Ilyasova has relished the chance to step up for his country when they were dealt another blow.

"We are missing Kerem Gonlum and that's hurt us a lot. But we've learned to play without him and I've been able to play the four spot a lot more, which is good because when I played for Barcelona I was playing the three position," he explained.

"I feel more comfortable. I try to do everything to win the game. When I play the four, I get to be closer to the basket so I can get more rebounds and help the team get on the fastbreak. We are a very tall team so that causes a lot of mis-matches. We try to use that to our advantage as much as possible."

Casting his sights ahead to the quarter-finals, Ilyasova calls for caution for his team.

"Once you get to the quarter-finals, anything can happen. It all comes down to one game. So you can't get too confident even if you have the best record or if you are unbeaten," he said.

[RoyalClub]

This game can go anywhere..It'll be a really important game to win, because i think both Turkey and Slovenia want (in logic) a "weaker" opponent in QF, which, from the pair Greece/Croatia is Croatia, for sure. Some of you mention we have some unfinished bussiness - well, i'm not really happy to see us in QF against Greece as they've always been playing on a good level against us, and i think Slovenian players will bear in mind "..what if we lose this one in the last minute too??". I dont think they would be able to get over this in quite some time. On the other side Croatia isn't really playing on Slovenian level, although they could explode on any game (but i dont really believe it will happen - someone mentioned gold for Croatia??LOL??), and i think that Croatia IS the better option for the Slovenia because they are our biggest rivals in sport (just like rivalry between Turkey and Greece), and we will be very very motivated to win against them in QF. The only problem is that Turkey probably prefer Croatia over Greece too, as, like i said, they are the weaker of the two.

Not to mention, whoever wins this game will face (if they win croatia in QF) much "easier" team to play with - either Serbia (which we already defeated in group stage), or Russia which is currently playing "ok", but is still far from its old glory from the last EC..

All in all, i think both teams will fight to win this one, if not for the prestige, to get a "nicer" opponent in the QF and consequently face Serbia/Russia in SF. Well, we'll just have to wait and see what happens, eh?

[AirBall]

Domen Lorbek wont play today either...

[Sin Borisko]

Is Domen seriously injured. I saw that he had injured his neck in last game,?

[AirBall]

Is Domen seriously injured. I saw that he had injured his neck in last game,?

Dont have a clue...Friend told me that greek jurnalists read on et1 some last injury reports and they mentioned that Dragic and Domen Lorbek wont play tonight...

[elaj]

Domen Lorbek and Goran Dragić won't play today against Turkey. D. Lorbek still feels pain in his neck, but he will play in quarterfinals. Dragić is questionable and will play only if he asks to play, nobody will force him.

I expect that coach Zdovc will give more playing time to Samo Udrih and Jaka Klobučar.

[Nemanja89]

Turkey and Slovenia will give their best cuz all wonts to avoid Greece. So it will bee an interesting game. AND i dont Know who will be the winner cuz those team r so tied.

[softice]

This game can go anywhere..It'll be a really important game to win, because i think both Turkey and Slovenia want (in logic) a "weaker" opponent in QF, which, from the pair Greece/Croatia is Croatia, for sure. Some of you mention we have some unfinished bussiness - well, i'm not really happy to see us in QF against Greece as they've always been playing on a good level against us

Hows that? Greece never played a good game against Slovenia.
Not even at 2007.

[coolstuff]

TÜRKİYE Coach: Bogdan Tanjevic
Player TM TP Reb Ast
Ersan İlyasova 5 88 37 2
Ömer Aşık 5 61 28 1
Ender Arslan 5 54 6 9
Hidayet Türkoğlu 5 46 23 13
Kerem Tunçeri 5 36 6 21
Oğuz Savaş 5 30 16 4
Bekir Yarangüme 2 11 5 2
Sinan Güler 5 27 14 4
Semih Erden 5 26 14 3
Barış Hersek 3 7 3 -
Engin Atsür 3 6 3 3
Ömer Onan 3 5 3 3
Total 5 397 178 65


SLOVENIA Coach: Jurij Zdovc
Player TM TP Reb Ast
Jaka Lakovic 5 80 17 21
Erazem Lorbek 5 78 34 14
Bostjan Nachbar 5 55 24 8
Goran Dragic 4 37 11 5
Primoz Brezec 5 36 8 5
Uros Slokar 3 16 10 1
Samo Udrih 5 25 9 8
Jurica Golemac 5 23 11 11
Goran Jagodnik 5 19 10 2
Domen Lorbek 5 16 7 3
Jaka Klobucar 2 4 1 1
Matjaz Smodis 2 4 3 2
Total 5 338 145 81

TM : Total match that player played
TP : Total points that player scored
Reb : Rebounds
Ast : Assists

PS : Sorry for translation mistakes

[AiwiTo]

http://www.atdhe.net/

try this one, usually it works..

i knew it, but thanks anyway

[RoyalClub]

Hows that? Greece never played a good game against Slovenia.
Not even at 2007.

There is a difference between "played on a good level", and "played a good game". I said PLAYED ON A GOOD LEVEL, with that i mean that they somehow always know what to do when it counts (ends of quarters, end of game..); they somehow manage to stop our key players and they manage to play on the same level throughout the game (they dont have as many 'ups and downs' as Slovenia does).

Don't get me wrong Greece were (was - i never know which is right ) REALLY lucky to win the game you're talking about, and also we were very clumsy and impatient in the last two minutes of the game.

Although i don't think the same scenario can happen again, i'm still hoping we win today and get Croatia, as their style of playing suits Slovenia better, and as Greece should always be considered to be a winner of any game - no matter what form they're in.

I now hope i made myself a little clearer about what i thought with that sentence.

[Deschain]

the man i trust the most today is kerem tunçeri , he's a decent defender and perfect ball handler (along with ender arslan) kerem tunçeri has 10.5 AS/TO ratio with 2 TO's in 5 games!! on the other hand AS/TO is 2.1 for lakovic , dishing the same amount of assist as kerem tunçeri , a nice matchup to watch. and i remember that ender played a bit with union olimpija , but i belive lakovic wil rest a bit. as well as Turkoglu and ilyasova.. still its a good game to consider which one is the better 'team'

[BARLAS]

I'm so interested about Hidayet's performance today(of course if he will be in squad)