By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Building up respective squads for the 2023-24 edition of 7DAYS EuroCup naturally emerges as a trend of recent weeks stretching to returning participant Besiktas Emlakjet.
After five years at Tofas, Berk Ugurlu joined Besiktas, the team announced Tuesday. A veteran of 16 games played in EuroCup as a member of Tofas and 25 appearances in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague with Fenerbahce from 2014 to 2017, he made his way to 51 Basketball Champions League contests between the Bursa outfit and Pinar Karsiyaka over the last five years.
Pending official confirmation, the team based in Istanbul will log a campaign in Euroleague Basketball’s second-tier competition for the first time since 2016. Competing at the European level over the last seven years was split between the BCL and FIBA Europe Cup with the most recent effort ending in the Qualifiers of the 2022-23 Europe Cup.
Another Turkish club heading to EuroCup is Turk Telekom, the runner-up of the 2021-22 season. The team based in Ankara added Metehan Akyel to the squad Tuesday. The 26-year-old Turkish center carries two brief EuroCup appearances from the early stages of his career at Banvit.
French center Bodian Massa was recently announced as a new player for JL Bourg, after a breakout season with SIG Strasbourg. The 25-year-old big penned a two-year contract and will debut in EuroCup.
Meanwhile, the 2022-23 eighthfinalists Veolia Hamburg Towers officially confirmed an agreement with head coach Benka Barloschky on a two-year contract extension.
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League