By Bugra Uzar/ info@eurohoops.net
Anadolu Efes head coach Ergin Ataman saw his team making the Final of the Turkish Cup tournament held in Ankara by beating Besiktas. Despite the win and qualification, the Turkish coach expressed several complaints that span from the performance of his younger players to the way the Cup tournament is organized.
Here’s what Ataman said in the post-game presser:
“Let’s not talk about the last quarter because when we talk about what happened, then I am becoming the bad man (Ataman is talking about Turkish and young players let Besiktas comeback). Authorities should analyze this situation because I don’t want to talk about this (the foreign players rule in Turkey).
“When our lead was reduced in the last one and a half minutes, I didn’t want to take a time out and bring our foreign players in the game because it doesn’t fit me. So those players brought the game to this situation. If we lose those are our players too. I couldn’t take them out at that point so didn’t take them out. We missed foul shots, something happened that shouldn’t have happened. Those players are making the same practices with our other players. We are making 3-4 hours of practices every day. They are doing the same things but in games, they are having troubles. I hope our national team staff will solve this problem.
The other point that I would like to bring to attention, is that the is Turkish Cup is an important organization. And we are playing semifinal games in Ankara and the arena is empty. There is a serious decline in Turkish basketball, authorities must discuss this and take some actions. Ankara is a city that loves basketball but I was disappointed before the game. At one side, there is the Euroleague organization, all games have 10-15 thousand fans. On the other side (in other European countries) there is the French Cup, Spanish Cup, Italian Cup and they are all like a festival. All leagues have festivals like this and we are here playing in the Turkish cup on our own. We should do something in order to do it. We should make it good. Like always, Ergin Ataman is telling the truth. Probably I will be the bad guy but I need to tell these things.”