By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun will be playing for the Turkish national team in the pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament of Istanbul (12-20 of August), according to Fanatik. It was previously reported that the young big man will skip the games.
Fanatik says that Sengun decided to finish his individual training sessions in the USA earlier than expected and will travel to Italy to join the rest of the national team for the Trentino Basketball Cup (4/8 – 5/8).
This is a massive boost for Turkey since Sengun comes off a strong sophomore season with the Rockets and averages of 14.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists. His arrival becomes even more important considering that Cedi Osman, Scottie Wilbekin and Shane Larkin remain unavailable.
Turkey hosts the second of the two pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournaments in Europe. The “12 Giant Men” will face Ukraine, Bulgaria and Iceland in Group C while Group D features Croatia, Belgium, Sweden and the Netherlands. The two top teams from each Group will advance to the knockout stages and the tournament winner will get a ticket to next year’s Olympic Qualifiers.