Ataman criticizes early morning time imposed on Turkey for round of 16

Turkey’s head coach Ergin Ataman didn’t mince words regarding the imposed time for his team’s decisive match against Sweden this Saturday. After finishing undefeated in the group stage, Turkey is forced to play its round of 16 match at 12:00 PM, a time slot that the 59-year-old coach considers disrespectful.

Schedule deemed disrespectful by Turkish staff

« I don’t like FIBA’s disrespect towards us, towards the group’s top team that finished undefeated », stated Ataman after Friday’s practice in Riga. The Turkish coach continued his criticism: « We have to play the game early at 12 PM tomorrow (Saturday). It’s ridiculous. We’ve been here for 15 days, and we’re playing the most important knockout game at 12 PM. »

Despite this frustration, Ataman remains determined and confident in his team’s abilities. « Everyone should know, even if we play at 3 AM, nobody can stop our goal of advancing to the medal stage », he firmly emphasized.

Medal objective after perfect group stage

Turkey enters the round of 16 following a flawless run in the group stage, notably marked by a remarkable victory against Serbia Wednesday at the Xiaomi Arena. « Right now, I’m only dreaming about advancing to the medal stage. The game against Serbia is over. Now, I’m solely focused on the national team winning tomorrow against Sweden and advancing to the quarter-finals », explained the coach.

Ataman expressed particular pride in his players’ performance level: « We’ve seen our team’s potential. Actually, I know this potential, but in all these games we’ve played, perfect matches, excellent defense, in offense we moved the ball very well, we always shared the ball. Especially against this EuroBasket’s favorite, Serbia, we played an incredible game. »

The Turkish coach concludes ambitiously: « We’re ready for the Top 16 match (round of 16) and hopefully for the quarter-finals, and to advance all the way to the final. »