Home FIBA FIBA World Cup 2014 Ergin Ataman to coach Turkey at World Cup

Ergin Ataman to coach Turkey at World Cup

Galatasaray coach Ergin Ataman will take charge of Turkey for the 2014 FIBA World Cup of Basketball.

This is now Turkey’s third different coaching change since their silver-medal accomplishment at the world championships, four years ago on home soil.

Bogdan Tanjevic originally stepped down after the world championships but came back to lead the team at Eurobasket last summer in Slovenia after Orhun Ene failed to lead the Turks to the Olympic Games in London as they were eliminated at the quarter-final stage at Eurobasket 2011 in Lithuania.

Tanjevic’s second spell though did not last long as he saw Turkey dumped out in the first round of Eurobasket with losses to Italy, Finland, Russia and Greece. A lone victory against Sweden was not enough, and the veteran playcaller stepped down after the tournament’s conclusion.

Turkey were given a lifeline when FIBA handed them one of the four wildcard spots for this summer’s World Cup in Spain.

Ataman will look to breathe new life into the national team and finally build on the national team’s successes of 2010. He won the Eurochallenge crown with Besiktas in 2012 and is in his second season with Galatasaray where they are currently in the Euroleague Top 16.

“I am honoured to accept the offer of TBF to be the head coach of the senior national team,” Ataman said during his official presentation.

“I am going to give everything I have for the success of Turkish basketball. My goal is to win [a medal] in each one of the major international competitions in the next three years: the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Eurobasket 2015 and the 2016 Olympics.”

“Ergin Ataman is one of the most successful coaches in Europe, and I believe that for Turkish basketball this will mark the beginning of a new era of success,” added Turkish Basketball Federation president Turgay Demirel.

Turkey are housed in Group C alongside favourites and world championship 2010 winners USA, Dominican Republic, Finland, Ukriane and New Zealand.

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