Alben looking for Turkey success at Rio Olympics

RIO DE JANEIRO (Rio 2016 Olympic Games) - The Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament tips off on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro and Turkey's start point guard Isil Alben looks forward to the special occasion.

The Turks will look to improve on the 5th-place finish they achieved four years ago at the London Games.

"My personal goal is going back to Turkey with a medal around my neck." - Alben

In order to match and/or improve on their 2012 run, Turkey will have to pass their Group A test against hosts Brazil, France, Japan, Australia, and Belarus.  

Alben, one of the six players who featured for Turkey in the British capital, stopped by to talk to FIBA.com.

FIBA.com: Turkey have been doing quite well on the world stage tournaments recently. As a team, what are your expectations for the Rio Olympics?
Alben: We have to play 40 minutes in every game because our group includes tough teams. We’ll get started against France, which is a really, really good team. We have played them many times in the past few years. Right now, I think we are strong enough to beat them. I am not going to be happy if we can't win a medal. My personal goal is going back to Turkey with a medal around my neck.

FIBA.com: Four years ago Turkey finished the Group Phase with a 4-1 mark, but in the end, you fell to Russia in the Quarter-Finals. What lessons have you learnt from the London Games? And, what, if anything, can you do better here in Rio?
Alben: We are a more experienced team than we were four years ago. In London, we had no idea what to expect from the tournament. It was our first appearance in the Olympics, but now we are ready to compete. Our first game [against France] is really important for us. We are looking to finish as high as possible in our group because we are looking for a medal here in Rio.

FIBA.com: How do you describe this Turkish team?
Alben: Some of us are more mature now, but we have some good young players, who have already proven that they can play on the big stage. They can give our team some energy, and more importantly, they know what their role on the team is.

FIBA.com: What do you make of Rio de Janeiro so far? 
Alben: The weather is bit cold here in Rio. We didn’t have much spare time to go out, but we are happy to be here and we are having a good time.

FIBA.com: Turkey have become a big player in international basketball recently. What has been the key for this transformation in Turkish women's basketball?
Alben: This is a process that has been going on for over 40 years. We have many people involved in the growth of the game in Turkey. We are the lucky generation that is playing on the big stage, but this evolution has started at least four decades ago, we are just the continuation of that process. We won our first medal [at EuroBasket Women 2011], but there is a huge work from previous generations.

FIBA.com: Talking about your preparation, Turkey lost four games against France and Serbia in the build-up to Rio. Do you think those defeats can affect the team at all?
Alben: We don’t really care much about losing those games. We lost four games against these two countries, but we missed Yilmaz (she was recovering from a hip injury). She is a great player and she can change the game for good for us, and I am glad that she is ready to play.

FIBA