Yildizoglu not fazed by Mozambique struggle

ANKARA (FIBA World Championship for Women) - Turkey head coach Ceyhun Yildizoglu is in buoyant mood ahead of the FIBA World Championship for Women Quarter-Finals and not perturbed by his team labouring against Mozambique.

While the host nation struggled to put their African opponents to the sword, eventually riding out 64-54 winners, the play-caller isn't worrying about the perhaps surprisingly modest margin of victory.

"We rested our tired players and also did not have to risk Birsel (Vardarli Demirmen)," explained Yildizoglu.

"We could also not previously find a chance to evaluate some players and Begum (Dalgalar) and Cansu (Koksal) both gave us an important contribution.

"Our goal in this match was about rhythm.

"Maybe we did not always manage to score, but we went into many favourable positions and it was helpful for us."

Yildizoglu was also at pains to point out that having lost twice in Minsk at an important preparation tournament, the defensive wrinkles had now been ironed out.

"We had a serious defensive problem during the final stages of our preparation," he admitted.

We have now made some good strides and we definitely need to fight in the Quarter-Finals without making any mistakes. - Yildizoglu

"But in defeating France and winning two important matches, this has now passed.

"Although I wish we could have used the Belarus tournament we participated in more positively, which would mean we would only have to do some tweaks now.

He also paid tribute to the fantastic support given to the team during their stay in Ankara, ahead of a switch to Istanbul.

"During the first two matches in particular, there were sections of the games where we played badly, but the fans did not leave us alone and stayed with us.

"I thank them for this and also congratulate my players for their performances so far."

FIBA