Turkey reduce squad to 15 in Manila OQT build-up
ISTANBUL (2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments) - Turkey now have a squad of 15 players preparing for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Manila.
ISTANBUL (2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments) - Turkey now have a squad of 15 players preparing for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Manila.
The group working with coach Ergin Ataman with visions of reaching the Rio de Janeiro Games consists of a mix of veterans like centers Omer Asik, Semih Erden and Oguz Savas and playmakers Sinan Guler, Ender Arslan and Dogus Balbay, and youngsters like guards Kenan Sipahi and Furkan Korkmaz and forward Cedi Osman.
| Turkey 15-player squad for 2016 FIBA OQT in Manila |
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| Ender Arslan | Omer Asik | Dogus Balbay | Birkan Batuk |
| Semih Erden | Samet Geyik | Sinan Guler | Baris Hersek |
| Furkan Korkmaz | Melih Mahmutoglu | Ali Muhammed | Can Mutaf |
| Cedi Osman | Oguz SAvas | Kenan Sipahi | |
There is also the presence of naturalized guard Ali Muhammed, who had a starring role at last year's EuroBasket. The 1.78m point guard played well for Turkey, especially in an overtime victory against Iceland.
Turkey recently took part in the Trentino Cup in Italy, losing to China, 75-70, and beating the Czech Republic, 92-65. In the win, Birkan Batuk led the way with 12 points while Osman and Muhammed weighed in with 10 apiece.
Ataman's team has been hard at work in practice on Tuesday, preparing for a friendly against the Philippines later in the day.
Turkey (TUR) practice on Tuesday ahead of warm-up game against the Philippines
Turkey will play in Group A at the OQT in Manila and face Senegal and Canada. A top-two finish would put them into a Semi-Final against a team from Group B, which consists of France, New Zealand and the Philippines.
The OQT in Manila runs 5-10 July.
FIBA