Erdenay handed Turkish Basketball Federation Presidency

ANKARA - The Turkish Basketball Federation (TBF) has a new man at the helm after Harun Erdenay was elected as its President on Wednesday.

In a vote at an Extraordinary General Assembly in the capital, the 47-year-old was handed a mandate to lead the organisation after receiving 93 of the 174 votes which were cast by members.

Born into a basketball family in 1968 and the son of legendary former player and coach Kemal Erdenay, the newly-appointed President became a star on the court himself in both Turkey and Europe.

He helped lead Turkey senior men's national team to a silver medal at EuroBasket 2001, which is still his country's best-ever finish in the competition.

He is also a three-time Turkish Basketball League (TBL) champion and led the league in scoring on two separate occasions, before eventually retiring from the game in 2008.

"It is a great honour and privilege to lead this world class federation," declared Erdenay after having his tenure confirmed.

"Turkish basketball has achieved tremendous success at all levels in recent years and I am excited to continue building on the foundation that Turgay Demirel built and taking TBF to the next level."

Erdenay also began serving as General Manager of Turkey's senior men's national team in 2006.

In 2010, he was one of the architects of the men's squad that won a silver medal at the FIBA Basketball World Cup on home soil - a result which remains the team's best-ever in world competitions.

Prior to his election as TBF President, Erdenay also served as a TBF Board Member and as Vice-President. He was also elected to the FIBA Europe Board in May 2014.

"I've devoted my life to basketball and had success as both a player and manager," he said.

"I look forward to working with the entire Turkish basketball family and our friends around the world, to strengthen our sport at home and abroad."

Erdenay had initially become [interim] TBF President on 30 March with the full support of the TBF Board, after FIBA Europe President Turgay Demirel stepped down from the position following 23 years of service to Turkish basketball. 

FIBA