ISTANBUL – Engin Baltacı: “As attacks and injustices against us increase, our voice will rise”
IMAGE DROP:- Statements by National Team Head Coach Ergin Ataman- Statements by National Basketball Player Furkan Korkmaz The National Men’s Basketball Team, which was eliminated from the European Championship, returned home- National Team Head Coach Ergin Ataman:- “We are very upset. We are very sad to lose”- National basketball player Furkan Korkmaz:- “We broke up, so to speak. It was very sad. I still feel the atmosphere, excitement, sadness and joy of the France match in my veins”ISTANBUL (AA) – Lost to France in the last 16 round of the 2022 European Championship A National Men’s Basketball Team returned home. The crescent-star convoy departed from Berlin, the capital of Germany, on a Turkish Airlines plane after the match against France. The morale of the technical team and players was observed to be low in the national team convoy that arrived at Istanbul Airport. Making a statement to the AA correspondent at the airport, A National Team Head Coach Ergin Ataman said they were very sorry to say goodbye to the tournament. Ataman stated that the Turkish people should be proud of the crescent-star basketball players. “We are in a very bad mood. Losing the game like this made us very sad.” Expressing that they lost the last group match in Georgia against Spain in a similar way, the experienced head coach said, “In the match where France was the favourite, the children put up a great fight, especially in the second half. Our country should be proud of all of them. Sometimes we need luck. ‘We won. , we hit a big target.’ At the moment we said, “Things happened in the last 12 seconds. There is nothing we can do. The average age of this team is 24. We are a very promising team. Although we could not reach the goal in this championship, our team gave the signals that it will be very successful in the coming periods. We are very sorry. This team, It could have come to places that no one expected, which was my dream, but it did not happen. It was not destiny.” Ergin Ataman emphasized that the future of the National Team is bright and said: “There is no national team for a long time. Everyone will go to their team. NBA players will not be in the national matches during the season. Some of the THY Europa League players will not be able to play. The matches will continue. The goal of this team will be the next European Championship. It will be a national team that will take three more years, gain more experience and make up for its shortcomings. We will evaluate what needs to be done about Turkish basketball in the coming period, together with President Hidayet Türkoğlu, our Ministry of Youth and Sports. “There are children who are very successful and promising for the future, especially in the category under the age of 18. We definitely need to get them into this team. In the next 3-5 years, we will have them watch the national team that everyone will be proud of in Europe.” – Furkan Korkmaz: “We broke up, so to speak” National basketball player Furkan Korkmaz also said that they were sad about not being able to return to Turkey as they wanted. Stating that the crescent-star team put their best effort, Furkan said, “We broke up, so to speak. It was very sad. It was still the atmosphere and excitement of the France match. I feel the sadness and joy in my veins. We could have returned to the country much happier and prouder, but it did not happen. I congratulate the technical team and my player friends. I also express my thanks to our people who support us. There are many more tournaments. We will have many chances to make us forget these matches. I hope better days await us. ” said. Expressing that the team will get better with experience, Furkan Korkmaz said, “We are a young team, but ‘We are young and we need a little more time.’ “I’m so tired of saying that. We are at the age when we should come out and play. There is no young or old left in this era. Of course, experience is something that comes with time. We have a team to be proud of. I congratulate everyone again. Good days are near.” used his statements.
