Turkey's Ilyasova - ''I'd like to win another medal or more for the national team before I stop playing''

ISTANBUL (Turkey) - It's been nine years since Ersan Ilysasova and Turkey hosted the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Istanbul and reached the Final before falling to a Kevin Durant-led United States.

Ilyasova says the event was so special that even with the 81-64 defeat to the USA, he cherishes the memory.

Ilyasova (No. 8) and Turkey finished runners-up at the 2010 FIBA Basketball World Cup

"We lost in the Final in 2010 but it still remains as one of the best memories I've had in my career," he said. "It’s the best team in the world and I've been living in the country (United States) for so long now, so it’s always special to play against the Americans."

Ilysasova has played the past several years in the NBA with numerous clubs, including Milwaukee this season.

“WE LOST IN THE FINAL IN 2010 BUT IT STILL REMAINS AS ONE OF THE BEST MEMORIES I'VE HAD IN MY CAREER.”- Ersan Ilyasova

In his mind, the 12 Giant Men should be thinking big ahead of China.

"I'd like to win another medal or more for the national team before I stop playing," he said. "I know it’s always tough to reach the medal spots and win titles because there are always more and more national teams that can compete for the top spots in international competitions. I also have the goal to help bring Turkey back to the Olympics by having a good run in China."

Turkey played in the Qualifying Round of the 1952 Helsinki Olympics but haven't made it to the Summer Games since.

A battle-hardened Ilyasova will bring much-needed experience to the table for Turkey in China 

The two European teams with the highest finishes at the World Cup will qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Games, and the 16 next best teams will each be granted a place in one of the four FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments in 2020, where they will have another chance to qualify for Tokyo.

In the First Round, the Turkey team coached by Ufuk Sarica will go up against the United States, Czech Republic and Japan in Group E. A top two finish would put them in Second Round Group K against the first two teams that come out of Group F, which is made up of Brazil, Montenegro, Greece and New Zealand.

“THE RACE FOR THE SECOND ROUND IS GOING TO BE INTENSE, AND ALSO THE ONE TO GET TO THE QUARTER-FINALS AND THE SEMIS, TOO. A LOT OF TEAMS CAN FIGHT FOR A MEDAL. WE'RE GOING TO USE ALL OF OUR ENERGY TO GO TO CHINA AND HAVE A GREAT RUN.”- Ilyasova

"It’s a very tough group, a very competitive one," Ilyasova said. "We don’t know that much about Japan, but we know about the Czech Republic and Team USA. Czech Republic is a very solid team, and they've been showing very good things the last couple of years. They're good on both ends of the floor and they have guys that compete at the highest level, such as Tomas Satoransky and Jan Vesely, who are top players.

"Japan is going to compete hard, too, after getting to the World Cup following a great campaign in the Asian zone. About Team USA, we all know about them. They have so much talent and they're going to China to try to win another title."

The USA, after finishing third in 2006, went unbeaten at the World Cups in 2010 and 2014. The Americans didn't have it all their own way against Turkey five years ago in Bilbao, though. Turkey gave the eventual champions their toughest game.

He fully expects the USA to be as competitive as always.

"It won’t be an easy game because they have the most talented team in the world and they're going to want to keep their title, but we're going to play with the highest intensity, trying to make them have a difficult game against us. It won’t be easy yet we're going to play in a way to try to make it difficult for them."

Ilyasova doesn't expect any country to find the 32-team tournament easy.

"The race for the second round is going to be intense, and also the one to get to the quarter-finals and the semis, too," he said.  "A lot of teams can fight for a medal. We're going to use all of our energy to go to China and have a great run."

FIBA