Friday, 25.08.2006	posted by Sven Simon 13:51 pm
Category: FIBA World Championship

.................................................................................................................

TURKISH HOMECOURT ADVANTAGE IN 2010

Guten Tag Everybody,

today I want to write something about Turkey. The quarterfinals are a big success for this team, not because it is missing players like Hedo Turkoglu, Mehmet Okur and Mirsad Turkcan, but because Turkey got such a young team.

The team has chemistry problems since the success in the EC in 2001 in Turkey (3rd place). And players like Turkoglu and Turkcan were a big part of it. I've heard and saw many times that Hedo often wants special treatment (read: superstar treatment) and do you remember the fist fight between Turkcan and Okur at last years EC? How do you spell team cancer?

Now national coach Bogdan Tanjevic invited some of the talented youngsters born in 1987 or 1986. Four of them got a spot at this WC: forwards Cenk Akyol and Ersan Ilyasova (both already drafted by the Atlanta Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks), point guard Hakan Demirel (a left handed floor general with a pass first attitude) and center Semih Erden. They were part of the U18-team, that won the famous Albert Schweitzer Tournament in 2004 in Germany. I saw the team several times in Mannheim and was very excited about it. Turkey got - besides the four guys in Japan - some more very talented players born in 1986 and 1987.

The team here in Japan already showed a wonderful hard fighting attitude and never gave up. That's why they won against a much better slovenian team. And in 2010 the world cup is in Turkey … that means four years more experience for a talented group and homecourt advantage (and you know that homecourt advantage can be a big thing with all that wonderful crazy turkish fans in the stands).

My advice: forget about guys like Hedo and Turkcan and continue to build on the young rising generation. They proved at the WC 2006 that they deserve it.

Okay, that's it for now. Excuse me? Ask that question once again, please … I couldn't understand you … Ahh, you wanna know about my predictions for the world cup 2010. It is really, really, really a little bit early, but … my gut feeling as of today is: Turkey is gonna win. Why? Just because I like the team.

PS: Here are my predictions for the quarterfinals. Argentina will beat Turkey, Spain will beat Lithuania, Greece will beat France … and Germany will beat the USA for sure (Sorry, but I can't predict against my country).

spiele hart, spiele smart, lies FIVE (www.fivemag.de), rät der sven.