Ergin Ataman talks national team roster, relationship with Fatih Terim / News - Basketnews.com

Turkish national team coach Ergin Ataman discussed the potential roster for the EuroBasket 2025 qualifiers and his relationship with Fatih Terim, the head coach of Panathinaikos's football team.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Ergin Ataman picked up a valuable win against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in Round 26 of the EuroLeague with Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens.

Tarik Biberovic

Team:Fenerbahce Beko IstanbulPosition:SFAge:23Height:201 cmWeight:100 kgBirth place:TurkeyProfileNewsStatistics

In a post-game interview with S Sport, the experienced head coach remarked on the formation of the Turkish national team roster, which he also leads.

"This week, there are cup matches all over Europe, and we have the Greek Cup. As soon as the cup is over, I will come to Istanbul on Monday the 19th to start my duty in the national team," Ataman outlined his plan. "Hopefully, with the new generation in the national, new EuroBasket qualifying matches will start."

The Turkish coach then briefly touched upon how the roster is going to look in comparison to the latest tournaments of EuroBasket 2022 and the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament 2023 Turkiye.

"Of course, we won't have our 5 NBA players [Cedi Osman, Omer Faruk Yurtseven, Alperen Sengun, Furkan Korkmaz, and Onuralp Bitim], which is a big disadvantage for us, but we have good players," he said.

He also revealed a surprising addition to the Turkish national team, as he stated that Tarik Biberovic will be on the preliminary roster.

"We have players who also play in the EuroLeague this year. Sertac [Sanli] being in Turkiye is an advantage for us," he said in praise of his former player. "We also included Tarik Biberovic, who played very well tonight [editor's note: Tarik had 12 points on 6/8 field goal shooting vs. Panathinaikos]. We will announce the roster on Monday," Ataman announced.

This would be the first time that Tarik Biberovic plays for the senior men's Turkish national team, having changed his national team preference in 2018 from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Turkiye after a lengthy junior team career with Fenerbahce.

Tarik Biberovic

MIN:13.49PTS:5.82 (60%)REB:1.47As:0.71ST:0.18BL:0TO:0.53GM:17ProfileEuroLeague2023/2024

On the topic of the Turkish national teams, Ergin Ataman then talked about Fatih Terim, former Turkish football men's team coach and a friend of Ataman's from Galatasaray. Terim, having won the UEFA Europa League with Galatasaray in the 1999-00 season, currently leads Panathinaikos FC.

"There is a two-month audience ban in Greek football. Of course, I can go if I want to, but I am waiting for the atmosphere [to build up]," Ataman responded to a question on whether he would go to support Terim in a football game or not.

"The coach started very well. When he first came, the fans had an attachment to the former coach, but Fatih Terim broke that. Now everyone has embraced coach Fatih; he won two Olympiacos derbies, which is very important," Ataman explained. "He is now a serious contender for the [Greek league] title."

"He came here [to the OAKA Arena] twice to support me. After the audience ban is lifted, Sarp and I will go to coach Fatih's Panathinaikos football matches," Ataman continued before issuing a disclaimer. "I have to state that Panathinaikos football and basketball are two separate clubs. Football and basketball are managed differently; they have different presidents. But this OAKA atmosphere is the same in the stadium," he concluded on a note of familiarity.

The arrival of Ataman and Terim to the respective branches of Panathinaikos has reinvigorated both, with Ataman amassing a 16-10 record and Terim accumulating 6 wins and 2 draws in 10 games with the football team.

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