“We have added value to basketball in the last 5 years” – CRI TÜRK

Turkish Basketball Federation President Hidayet Türkoğlu said that they have done important work as a management and that they will continue to work to do better in the second term if they are re-elected.

Turkish Basketball Federation President Hidayet Türkoğlu both gave information about his work for the second term and answered the criticisms of the presidential candidates Harun Erdenay and Erman Kunter.

Stating that as the management, they try to explain to the basketball community what they will do in the future as much as they can, Türkoğlu said, “Every presidential candidate needs to talk about where he will bring basketball in the next period. We are very pleased with the work we have done so far, we are thinking about how we can do even better things.” said.

Reminding that there are three candidates for the presidential election at the TBF’s ordinary general assembly, Türkoğlu said, “Two more candidates show how desirable, desirable and attractive basketball has become. As a team, we think that we have added value to basketball in the last 5 years. Naturally, we are happy that more candidates have emerged in this process. We wish everyone success.” used the phrases.

“I AM HERE”

Türkoğlu also denied the news that he withdrew from the candidacy and that he would settle in the USA, saying, “There is no such thing as withdrawing from the candidacy. I have always been honest in my life. For me, I think my place in the hearts and minds of the Turkish people is from this sincerity and honesty. As Hidayet Türkoğlu, I would like to announce my presidency of the basketball federation in the upcoming period. I am here.” he said.

Noting that they announced that they wanted to take office for 2 terms before, Türkoğlu said, “We all know what we have been through as a country. We never tried to make excuses anywhere. The processes that the country has gone through due to economic ups and downs or pandemics are obvious. That’s why we were away from basketball for a year. We had to play the games without spectators for a year. We have worked on how we can do better and how we can be beneficial to our clubs in this economic process. Now we are working on how we can be beneficial for our clubs both technologically and economically for the next 3 years.” made its assessment.

“READY TO FACE EVERYONE”

Responding to the criticism that people in the community could not reach him, Türkoğlu said, “I had previously wished that there would be a democratic election and that each candidate would inform the community with their projects. But it makes us sad to hear such criticism. As Hidayet Türkoğlu, my phone has always been open to everyone. I am ready to face anyone on this matter.” used the phrases.

Explaining that they want to talk about the values ​​they add to basketball, Türkoğlu said, “We think that we are doing good things in cooperation with the clubs, be it our sponsorships, our success in the organization, the increase in the number of minutes of Turkish athletes. We have never criticized the other side and never made accusations against them.” he said.

Stating that they also have a good relationship with FIBA, Türkoğlu said:

“While there is no national team organization anywhere in Europe, we have organized other organizations in our country besides the national team. We also received thanks from FIBA. The relations between me, my professional team and the board of directors with FIBA ​​and our clubs have been at the highest level. We have succeeded in fulfilling their wishes with good dialogues. We have always looked at the event as the Turkish Basketball Federation and Turkish basketball. We did not personalize the subject. No club representative can say they couldn’t reach our professional team. We made the changes by talking to them. We did the financial criteria again by talking to them.”

Emphasizing that they were surprised at the criticism and accusations against them during the election process, Türkoğlu continued his words as follows:

“As a team, we tried not to get into polemics. We tried to explain concretely what we did. We can’t understand why they go this way. We have always been innovative, open to criticism and unifying. Surprised, we also need to respond. More concrete, more evidence-based opinions will be healthy.”

Referring to the criticisms in the leagues, 12 Giant Men Basketball Schools and regional leagues, Türkoğlu said:

“When we took office, 12 Giant Men Basketball Schools were being built with money by the previous administration. Our first decision as management is to do this for free. I can say that we are now spread all over Turkey. Herbalife Nutrition continues as the title sponsor of the Women’s Super League. Friends are either not really well prepared or do not know how to make a public presentation. We already share existing contracts and sponsorships. The regional league was not closed. With the format change, our teams are playing in their own provinces. We can say that the number of teams has also increased. We take the group winners or champions of the teams there and take them to the regional league and take the next champion team to the upper league. We increased the number of teams from 130’s to 260-280’s. The number of matches also increased. We are making these changes with club managers. Criticisms on this issue are more disrespectful to the clubs than us.”

Stating that no one knows the problems in basketball better than themselves, Türkoğlu said, “We have always tried to improve ourselves in our sports career. In this process, we are a team that thinks about how we can contribute to basketball.”

Pointing out that they also carried out important studies and increased the number of match broadcasts, Türkoğlu said, “I would like to thank Tivibu. When we arrived, we signed a record 3-year contract, and this year we extended the contract. As in the last 2 years, TRT also broadcasts 2 matches live every week. For the first time in history, Turkish Basketball League matches started to be broadcast on TRT in our period. When we arrived, 5 matches were being played live. In our period, 12 matches, 8 Super League, 2 women and 2 TBL, are broadcast live on national channels.” he said.

THE PROJECT IN THE AREA OF ABDİ İPEKCI GYM

Türkoğlu, who gave information about the construction phase of the facility to be built instead of Abdi İpekçi Sports Hall, said, “The project was going to go out to tender these days. That was the last time we spoke. Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Environment and Urbanization carries out this with TOKİ. We would like to give the gospel in this regard. It will be one of the biggest investments to be made for Turkish basketball and Turkish sports. We cannot thank our President enough. He follows the project from beginning to end. This will be the greatest value we will bring to Turkish basketball. We will continue to bring such values.” he said.

“OUR LEAGUE IS AMONG THE BEST LEAGUES IN EUROPE”

Reacting to the views that Turkish basketball is receding, Türkoğlu continued as follows:

“This is making us sad. Either they’re not really sincere or they don’t follow our league. Our league is among the best leagues in Europe. We are competing with Spain for first and second place. Such comments are disrespectful to both our investing clubs and our hard-working athletes. In the last 5 years, two Europa League champions have emerged from our league. Fenerbahce and Anadolu Efes became champions. Darüşşafaka and Galatasaray won the European Cup. Pınar Karşıyaka played the final in the FIBA ​​organization. It is sad to ignore the success of our women and talk about Turkish basketball like this.”

CRITICISM ABOUT THE DECREASE OF NATIONAL TEAMS

Referring to Harun Erdenay’s statement that the national teams have regressed in the FIBA ​​ranking, Türkoğlu said, “As the management, the most sensitive issue is the national teams. We are people who have taken part in the successes of Turkish basketball in the last 20 years. No one knows how important and meaningful the national team is. With the change we made regarding the foreign rule, we will get the return of our investment in Turkish athletes.” used the phrases.

Reminding that they played in the Olympic qualifiers and they could not get the result they wanted, Türkoğlu said, “When the number of foreigners was 6, Turkish athletes played with an average of 7-9 minutes. After our 5 foreign player rule, this time increased to almost 18-20 minutes. This will both benefit their teams and benefit the national team. We are experiencing a generational change. In the new process, we will continue to work for our players to get more time at their clubs. It is a pity that they say the failure of the national team only for this period. We have taken important steps in gaining experience of our friends through the work we have done. As we find time, we will start to see the benefits of this in the national team.” made its assessment.

Explaining that he believes they are doing well in what they do, Türkoğlu said, “We think we can do better. They make such accusations because they cannot offer anything concrete to our community and the public.” he said.

“WE EXPECT MORE MATURE BEHAVIORS FROM EVERYONE”

When asked about the possibility of meeting as presidential candidates, Türkoğlu said, “We have not come together until now. We don’t know if we will come in the future. Our door is open to everyone. Our goal is for everyone to express themselves correctly and present their projects to our clubs. We are open to innovation. Of course, there are points where we think we can do better.” gave the answer.

Addressing the community during the election process, Türkoğlu said, “We expect more mature behavior from everyone. Rather than making bad accusations, we ask the candidates to inform the public and our basketball community about their work and projects. As a team, we will continue to tell our clubs what we have done in just 5 years and what we will do from now on. It will be appreciated by the community again.” he concluded.