Alben out to pick up the pieces after Rio tears
ISTANBUL (FIBA EuroBasket Women 2017) - As Turkey enter their new world without long-serving legend Nevriye Yilmaz, much of the responsibility at The Final Round will fall onto the shoulders of Isil Alben.
ISTANBUL (FIBA EuroBasket Women 2017) - As Turkey enter their new world without the presence of the long-serving legend Nevriye Yilmaz, much of the responsibility at The Final Round will fall onto the shoulders of Isil Alben.
Turkey had hoped to provide a fairytale for their former leader, but Rio only served up heartache last summer as the team were kicked in the gut by a stomach-churning last-second loss in the Quarter-Finals to Spain.
Now Alben is ready to pick up the pieces as a new dawn emerges for a nation who have taken a trio of top-five finishes in a row at FIBA EuroBasket Women – including silver in 2011 and bronze in 2013.
Her influence will be key. After all, while Yilmaz has departed the scene, Alben herself is in a good place to be the main cog in Turkey's wheel – both on and off the court. After all, she remains one of the most popular figures in the sport – as evidenced by her Instagram followers who are edging towards the 100,000 mark.
But, like many of her colleagues, eradicating the mental pain from Rio is proving a rather bitter pill.
Alben is trying to walk away mentally from the despair she felt in Rio
"Last year at the Olympics was so disappointing for us, because we were all hoping we might be able to get a medal," revealed the Galatasaray star.
"The loss to Spain was one of the worst moments of my entire life."
The agony of such a setback is still clearly etched on the face of the guard as she recalls the nightmare of that last-gasp shot and game-winner by Anna Cruz.
Turning the tide emotionally in Hradec Kralove will be made even more tricky by the fact that Turkey appear to be entering something of a transition.
This brings new pressure on her to step up even more a as a leader for her country and take on the burden of guiding the side along with fellow seasoned internationals such as her backcourt partner Birsel Vardarli-Demirmen and captain Saziye Ivegin Uner.
The trio will be fundamental to how Turkey perform in Czech Republic, although so far at least, preparation results have been a concern after multiple losses against both Slovenia and Russia. It's also debatable as to what Turkey's true ambition should be.
Despite their personnel issues and lack of preparation victories, the title itself and the podium remain on the radar. Aiming low is difficult for a country who has come so far since they made history six years ago by making their first-ever Final in Lodz.
Two Olympic appearances later, Alben is adamant they are ready for what will be thrown at them – linking into head coach Ekrem Memnun's words this week, which confirmed the minimum goal is a ticket for the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in Spain next year.
"It will be a challenge at this EuroBasket Women Final Round because we are missing Nevriye [Yilmaz] and she has been so important to us for many years," mused Alben.
"But, we have some talented young players and we just have to work even harder and learn very quickly as a team.
"We all know it will be hard, but we still have some experienced players who know about this level and we are confident we can do well and push for more success."
Turkey will wrap up their preparations for The Final Round by playing Latvia at the weekend and have been drawn in Group B against Belarus, Italy and Slovak Republic.
FIBA