By Stefan Djordjevic / info@eurohoops.net
Besiktas is one of the main contenders for the title in the Basketball Champions League. Their roster has some well-known players like John Diebler, Earl Clark, and D.J. Strawberry. Former Boston Celtic Semih Erden is also there.
However, in their last game on Day 9 of the Basketball Champions League Besiktas – the 87-77 win over Oostende — Turkish big man Sertac Sanli stole the show.
26-year-old Sanli recorded season-highs in points and in rebounds in the game, finishing with 18 points and 7 boards which were enough for 26 in PIR.
A seven-footer from Turkey, Sanli was ranked 19th among 1991-born international prospects on DraftExpress. He applied for the 2012 NBA Draft but withdrew shortly after and he waited the next year when he became auto-eligible.
While he is not an NBA-caliber talent and he couldn’t find a specific role during his five-year stint with Galatasaray, spending most of his time loaned to Tofas, Gaziantep, and Usak before moving to Trabzonspor in 2015, things changed when he signed with Besiktas in the summer of 2016.
Sanli made a big step forward last year. He benefited a lot from working with coach Ufuk Sarıca and improved on every aspect of his game.
Last season’s campaign with Besiktas earned him a place in a Turkish National Team and he was present in Eurobasket 2017.
It wasn’t the first time he represented his country. In the past, he had been a member of the Turkish U-16, U-18, and U-20 National Team. He played at the 2007 European U-16 Championship, the 2008 European U-18 Championship, the 2010 and 2011 European U-20 Championships and has was also a member of the Turkish national team that played at the 2015 World University Games.
A shy guy, despite his often loud floor presence, Sanli finally found in Besiktas the way to make a splash. He is arguably the squad’s best big man and for a Turkish club to have a local guy getting the job done is a rare commodity.
Setrac Sanli stepping up can be a major thing for Besiktas in their battle for the Basketball Champions League title this year. So far he has done his part and more. Yet the best has yet to come after the holidays’ break of the competition.
Photo credit: Basketball Champions League.