Turkey punches ticket to Eurobasket 2013

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Members of the Turkish national team celebrate after their win over Czech Republic. AA Photo

Turkey secured a place at next year’s European Basketball Championships following a big 81-58 victory over the Czech Republic on Sept. 11.

Former Boston Celtics center Semih Erden powered Turkey ahead with 21 points and 11 rebounds, while veteran center Kerem Gönlüm added 20 points. The 23-point lead was enough for Turkey to pass the Czechs in the Group F standings. Turkey lost to the Czech Republic by 18 points in the two teams’ first game.

As the group runner-up, Turkey and leader Italy qualified for Eurobasket 2013 in Slovenia.

Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Israel, Latvia, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia, Sweden and Ukraine also won qualification. Host Slovenia and France, Great Britain, Lithuania, Russia, Spain, Greece and Macedonia have been granted automatic qualification due to their 2012 Olympic qualifying tournament finishes.

With the qualification, Coach Bogdan Tanjevic’s spell at Turkey came to an end. Tanjevic, who also coached the team between 2004 and 2010, was recalled after Orhun Ene quit the post last year. He was only assigned to lead the team to Eurobasket 2013.