By Anil Can Sedef/ info@eurohoops.net
As he explained himself in an instagram post: “I left behind me a very hard season and passed through a process of free agency full of questions. I am not in the physical or mental condition to help my national team. I have talked about the possibility of playing in the EuroBasket with the federation many times. Unfortunately, I will not be able to help our national team this summer”.
Turkey is the hosts of one of the four preliminary groups and also of the final phase of the tournament, so missing one of its marquee names is a huge blow.
Ilyasova made his national team debut back in 2006 during the FIBA World Cup, then named Mundobasket, and he was a member of the silver medal winning team in the 2010 FIBA World Cup which was held in Turkey. This is the first Eurobasket since 2007 that he will not be on the court.