Turkey men's national basketball team


The Turkey national basketball team represents Turkey in men's international basketball tournaments. They are governed by the Turkish Basketball Federation. Their nickname is the 12 Dev Adam, meaning 12 Giant Men.
Turkey has competed at every major international basketball tournament. Their greatest achievements are winning two silver medals on home soil at the EuroBasket, and FIBA World Cup respectively. Turkey has also won two gold, one silver, and three bronze medals at the Mediterranean Games.
Currently, Turkey stands 15th in the FIBA World Rankings.

History

was known as being the first organizer of basketball in Turkey. In 1936, Turkey played its first ever basketball match against Greece, winning 49–12. For many years basketball was a little-known sport in Turkey, but when the American drama The White Shadow started airing in the country, it gained populairty, therefor the national team lacked decent support and could not win any international tournaments until the 1980s, when Turkey won the gold medal at the 1981 Balkan Championship and the 1987 Mediterranean Games. Efes Pilsen was the first Turkish club to win a European Cup in any team sport, the 1995–96 FIBA Korać Cup. Since then, basketball in Turkey has grown constantly, as the national team began to play a major role in international tournaments. The Turkish national team won the silver medal at both the EuroBasket 2001, and the 2010 FIBA World Cup.

1930s–1940s

Turkey's European Championship debut came at the EuroBasket 1949. The Turks split their six matches in the seven-team round robin tournament, finishing with three wins and three losses for 4th place.

1950s

Turkey competed again at the EuroBasket 1951 in Paris. Their only loss in the preliminary round was to the Soviet Union as Turkey earned the second-rank spot with a 3–1 record. Their single loss to Bulgaria in the semi-final round, however, was enough to bump them from championship contention as they came out on the bottom of a three-way tie with a 2–1 record. They won their classification 5–8 game, but lost the 5/6 game to Italy.
Turkey returned after missing 1953's edition to the EuroBasket 1955 in Budapest. They went 1–2 in their preliminary round group, taking third in the pool and moving to classification play. There they lost only to France on their way to a 3–1 record in classification round 1. They lost their 9–12 semi-final by 1 point to Finland, but defeated England 77–54 in the next game to take 11th place of the 18 team tournament.
Turkey appeared again at the EuroBasket 1957 in Sofia. Losing to the Soviet Union and Poland in the preliminary round, Turkey took third in the group to be sent to the classification pool. They defeated each of the other seven teams in the classification round in order to take 9th place of the 16 teams.

1960s–1980s

The 1960s, 1970s and 1980s were in general a barren period for the Turkish national basketball team. They were, however, successful at the Mediterranean Games, winning two bronze medals in 1967 and 1983, one silver medal in 1971, and one gold medal in 1987. Turkey also won the gold medal at the Balkan Championship in 1981. The team was led by notable coaches like Yalçın Granit and Mehmet Baturalp in the 1960s and 1970s, and by Aydan Siyavuş during the Balkan and Mediterranean triumphs of the 1980s, which marked the dawn of a successful new era in Turkish basketball starting from the late 1980s and early 1990s. Efe Aydan and Erman Kunter were among the notable players of this period in Turkish basketball. Erman Kunter, who still holds a number of all-time records in the Turkish Basketball League as a player, later became a successful coach in the Turkish and French basketball leagues, and led the Turkish national team at the EuroBasket 1999.

1990s

Turkey appeared again at the EuroBasket 1993 after 12 years of absence, but finished 11th among 16 teams. Turkey finished 13th among 14 teams at the EuroBasket 1995, 8th among 16 teams at the EuroBasket 1997, and again 8th among 16 teams at the EuroBasket 1999.

2000s

As the host country of the EuroBasket 2001, the Turkish national basketball team, led by coach Aydın Örs, reached the EuroBasket final for the first time in their history Turkey defeated Croatia in the quarter-finals and Germany in the semi-finals, before playing with Yugoslavia in the final. Turkey lost the game 69–78 and finished the tournament with the silver medal. Turkish star İbrahim Kutluay scored 19 points in the final game and was included in the all-tournament team. Team captain Harun Erdenay was another key scorer for Turkey in the tournament. The team's roster included past and future NBA players Mirsad Türkcan, Hidayet Türkoğlu and Mehmet Okur.
Turkey then qualified for the 2002 FIBA World Cup. Turkey had 4 wins and 4 defeats at the championship and finished 9th.
At the EuroBasket 2003, Turkey reached the second round where they got eliminated by Serbia and Montenegro.
Turkey qualified for the EuroBasket 2005 held in Serbia and Montenegro, but lost to Lithuania and Croatia, defeating only Bulgaria in the preliminary round. This win brought Turkey to the knock-out stage, where Germany eliminated the team 66–57. Turkey ended the tournament with a 9–12 rank.
Turkey was awarded one of the four wild cards by FIBA for the qualification to the 2006 FIBA World Cup in Japan.
The Turkish squad completed the preliminary rounds in Group C at second place after the Greek team, and was entitled to play in the round of 16, winning 4 matches against Lithuania, Australia, Brazil and Qatar out of 5 games in total, losing only to Greece in the last match. The young team also achieved the first official win over Lithuania and the first ever 4 consecutive wins in a championship. On August 26, 2006, the Turkish national team qualified for the Elite Eight, defeating Slovenia by 90–84. In the quarter-finals, Turkey lost to Argentina. They managed to defeat Lithuania once again before losing to France, finishing 6th.
A new nickname, 12 Cesur Yürek was proposed after the young and inexperienced team's surprising performance in the 2006 FIBA World Cup, despite not having star players Hidayet Türkoğlu, Mehmet Okur, Mirsad Türkcan, Kerem Tunçeri and Hüseyin Beşok.
At the EuroBasket 2007, Turkey played in Group C with Lithuania, Germany and the Czech Republic. Turkey began by losing 86–69 to Lithuania and was then blown out 79–49 by Germany. The team ended group play with an 80–72 win over fellow bottom-of-the-group team Czech Republic. With that win Turkey advanced to the next round, but the team lost all its games in that round. Turkey was eliminated from the EuroBasket 2007 with a 1–5 record and an 11th-place finish.
At the EuroBasket 2009, Turkey played in Group D with hosts Poland, Lithuania and Bulgaria. The Group D matches took place in Wrocław, Poland. Turkey won all three of its group matches and qualified for the second round. Turkey enjoyed a strong start in the second round as well, winning its first match against World Champions Spain, when Ömer Aşık and Ersan İlyasova rejected a last-second shot by Sergio Llull. Turkey then beat Serbia in overtime. Turkey's winning streak came to an end against Slovenia, when, despite a 19-point comeback, Engin Atsür missed a desperation three pointer in a 69–67 loss. In the quarter-finals, Turkey met Greece and lost a close game in overtime, finishing the tournament 8th. Yet, in the same year, Turkey won the bronze medal at the 2009 Mediterranean Games.

2010s

As the host country, Turkey, led by coach Bogdan Tanjević, automatically qualified for the 2010 FIBA World Cup. Turkey topped their group, winning all their games against Côte d'Ivoire, Russia, Greece, Puerto Rico and China. In the knockout stages Turkey managed to defeat France, Slovenia and Serbia in a thrilling semi-final match which Turkey won 83–82. The national team enjoyed their greatest success to date on the international stage going undefeated in group play and progressing to the final, where they eventually lost to the United States to come away with the silver medal. Each player was awarded a prize of 1,500,000 TL from the Turkish government for being the runner-up in the competition.
Orhun Ene, who was the assistant coach of Turkey next to Tanjević and had a successful career as a player, was appointed the head coach to lead Turkey during the EuroBasket 2011. The team had a bad tournament as they got eliminated in the second group phase after losing three straight games. Turkey and Serbia were the only teams that managed to defeat the eventual EuroBasket 2011 champions Spain during the tournament.
Two years later, Turkey won their second gold medal at the 2013 Mediterranean Games by defeating Serbia in the final. A few months later at the EuroBasket 2013, Turkey managed to defeat only Sweden, before finishing the competition with an putrid record and 17th place.
On 22 March 2014, the Turkish Basketball Federation announced that Ergin Ataman would lead the national team during the 2014 FIBA World Cup, EuroBasket 2015 and the 2016 Summer Olympics. Ergin Ataman is one of the most successful Turkish coaches in European club competitions, having won the 2001–02 FIBA Saporta Cup with the Italian club Montepaschi Siena, the 2011–12 FIBA EuroChallenge with the Turkish club Beşiktaş, and the 2015–16 EuroCup with the Turkish club Galatasaray. The Turkish team failed to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics after a loss to France.
On 19 January 2017, Ufuk Sarıca succeeded Ergin Ataman as Turkey's new head coach. Sarıca was among the star players of Efes Pilsen in the 1990s, winning the 1995–96 FIBA Korać Cup and reaching the final of the 1992–93 FIBA Saporta Cup with the Istanbul based club under head coach Aydın Örs.
Turkey was one of the co-hosts for the EuroBasket 2017, but the national team put up an near identical performance as they did at the 2015 edition. They were eliminated in both tournaments in the Round of 16, although winning one fewer game in 2017.

Honours

The Turkish national team's medal record through the years:
GamesGoldSilverBronzeTotal
FIBA World Cup0101
EuroBasket0101
Mediterranean Games2136
Grand Totals2338

Competitive record

FIBA World Cup

Olympic Games

Mediterranean Games

EuroBasket

Results and fixtures

EuroBasket 2021 Qualifiers">EuroBasket_2021_qualification#Qualifiers">EuroBasket 2021 Qualifiers

Group D">EuroBasket_2021_qualification#Group_D_2">Group D

Team

Current roster

Roster for the EuroBasket 2021 Qualifiers matches played on 21 and 24 February 2020 against Netherlands and Sweden.

Depth Chart

Head coaches

1936 Olympic Games: finished 21st among 21 teams
1 Dionis Sakalak, 2 Jack Habib, 3 Hayri Arsebük, 4 Naili Moran, 5 Nihat Ertuğ, 6 Hazdayi Penso, 7 Sadri Usluoğlu, 8 Şeref Alemdar
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1949 EuroBasket: finished 4th among 7 teams
3 Avram Barokas, 4 Sacit Seldüz, 5 Tevfik Tankut, 6 Haşim Tankut, 7 Hüseyin Öztürk, 8 Vitali Benazus, 9 Candaş Tekeli, 10 Ali Uras, 11 Erdoğan Partener, 12 Ayduk Koray, 13 Mehmet Ali Yalım, 14 Samim Göreç
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1951 EuroBasket: finished 6th among 17 teams
3 Yılmaz Gündüz, 4 Yalçın Granit, 5 Sacit Seldüz, 6 Ayhan Demir, 7 Ali Uras, 8 Cemil Sevin, 9 Sadi Gülçelik, 10 Avram Barokas, 11 Erdoğan Partener, 12 Ertem Göreç, 13 Mehmet Ali Yalım, 14 Nejat Diyarbakırlı
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1952 Olympic Games: finished 22nd among 23 teams
3 Yılmaz Gündüz, 4 Yalçın Granit, 5 Sacit Seldüz, 6 Ali Uras, 7 Güney Ülmen, 8 Altan Dinçer, 9 Sadi Gülçelik, 10 Mehmet Ali Yalım, 11 Erdoğan Partener, 12 Nejat Diyarbakırlı, 13 Turhan Tezol, 14 Yüksel Alkan
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1955 EuroBasket: finished 11th among 18 teams
3 Yüksel Böke, 4 Yalçın Granit, 5 Cahit Tanık, 6 Turhan Tezol, 7 Tunç Erim, 8 Yalçın Okaya, 9 Sadi Gülçelik, 10 Mehmet Ali Yalım, 11 Erdoğan Karabelen, 12 Altan Dinçer, 13 Üner Erimer, 14 Şinasi Ertan, 15 Yavuz Türkoğlu, 16 Yüksel Alkan
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1957 EuroBasket: finished 9th among 16 teams
3 Yılmaz Gündüz, 4 Yalçın Granit, 5 Orhan Girgin, 6 Turhan Tezol, 7 Tunç Erim, 9 Mehmet Baturalp, 11 Erdoğan Karabelen, 12 Altan Dinçer, 13 Üner Erimer, 14 Erkan Gündüz, 15 Yavuz Türkoğlu
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1959 EuroBasket: finished 12th among 17 teams
4 Nedret Uyguç, 6 Turhan Tezol, 7 Tunç Erim, 8 Ömer Urkon, 9 Mehmet Baturalp, 10 Özer Salnur, 11 Erdoğan Karabelen, 12 Ünal Büyükaycan, 13 Güner Yalçıner, 14 Tuğrul Demir, 15 Ali Kazaz, 16 Şengün Kaplanoğlu
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1961 EuroBasket: finished 10th among 19 teams
4 Nedret Uyguç, 5 Haşim Ülkü, 6 Şengün Kaplanoğlu, 7 Tuncer Kobaner, 8 Ömer Urkon, 9 Mehmet Baturalp, 10 Ersan Salihoğlu, 11 Erdal Poyrazoğlu, 12 Altan Dinçer, 13 Dursun Açıkbaş, 14 Yavuz Demir, 15 Ali Kazaz
----
1963 EuroBasket: finished 15th among 16 teams
4 Nedret Uyguç, 5 Nedim Hoşgör, 6 Şengün Kaplanoğlu, 7 Tuncer Kobaner, 8 Haşim Ülkü, 9 Mehmet Baturalp, 10 Halil Dağlı, 11 Özer Salnur, 12 Ünal Büyükaycan, 13 İlker Esel, 14 Yavuz Demir, 15 Hüseyin Kozluca
----
1971 EuroBasket: finished 12th among 12 teams
4 Nuri Tan, 5 Barış Küce, 6 Nadir Vekiloğlu, 7 Battal Durusel, 8 Cihat İlkbaşaran, 9 Kemal Erdenay, 10 Serdar Ersözlü, 11 Zeki Tosun, 12 Abdullah İnce, 13 Nur Germen, 14 Reşat Güney, 15 Hüseyin Alp
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1973 EuroBasket: finished 8th among 12 teams
4 Nuri Tan, 5 Serdar Ersözlü, 6 Necmi Ton, 7 Doğan Hakyemez, 8 Aydın Örs, 9 Kemal Erdenay, 10 Battal Durusel, 11 Zeki Tosun, 12 Erdal Poyrazoğlu, 13 Abdullah İnce, 14 Halil Dağlı, 15 Reşat Güney
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1975 EuroBasket: finished 9th among 12 teams
4 Nur Germen, 5 Barış Küce, 6 Nadir Vekiloğlu, 7 Doğan Hakyemez, 8 Ömürden Kısagün, 9 Kemal Erdenay, 10 Battal Durusel, 11 Zeki Tosun, 12 Erdal Poyrazoğlu, 13 Abdullah İnce, 14 Efe Aydan, 15 Kemal Akıncı
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1981 EuroBasket: finished 11th among 12 teams
4 Serdar Koçyiğit, 5 Melih Erçin, 6 Necati Güler, 7 Doğan Hakyemez, 8 Aytek Gürkan, 9 Emir Turam, 10 Erman Kunter, 11 Mehmet Döğüşken, 12 Cevat Soydaş, 13 Efe Aydan, 14 Sadi Olcay, 15 Celal Arısan
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1993 EuroBasket: finished 11th among 16 teams
4 Erdal Koşan, 5 Ömer Saybir, 6 Murat Konuk, 7 Orhun Ene, 8 Volkan Aydın, 9 Harun Erdenay, 10 Serdar Apaydın, 11 Levent Topsakal, 12 Ömer Büyükaycan, 13 Tamer Oyguç, 14 Lütfi Arıboğan, 15 Hüsnü Çakırgil
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1995 EuroBasket: finished 13th among 14 teams
4 Murat Konuk, 5 Mirsad Türkcan, 6 Murat Evliyaoğlu, 7 Orhun Ene, 8 İbrahim Kutluay, 9 Harun Erdenay, 10 Serdar Apaydın, 11 Levent Topsakal, 12 Ömer Büyükaycan, 13 Tamer Oyguç, 14 Lütfi Arıboğan, 15 Haluk Yıldırım
----
1997 EuroBasket: finished 8th among 16 teams
4 Murat Konuk, 5 Kerem Tunçeri, 6 Mirsad Türkcan, 7 Orhun Ene, 8 Volkan Aydın, 9 Harun Erdenay, 10 İbrahim Kutluay, 11 Murat Evliyaoğlu, 12 Hüseyin Beşok, 13 Tamer Oyguç, 14 Tunç Girgin, 15 Ufuk Sarıca
----
1999 EuroBasket: finished 8th among 16 teams
4 Kerem Tunçeri, 5 Hidayet Türkoğlu, 6 Mirsad Türkcan, 7 Cüneyt Erden, 8 Murat Konuk, 9 Haluk Yıldırım, 10 İbrahim Kutluay, 11 Mehmet Okur, 12 Hüseyin Beşok, 13 Tamer Oyguç, 14 Asım Pars, 15 Ufuk Sarıca
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2001 EuroBasket: finished 2nd among 16 teams
4 Kerem Tunçeri, 5 Hidayet Türkoğlu, 6 Mirsad Türkcan, 7 Orhun Ene, 8 Asım Pars, 9 Harun Erdenay, 10 İbrahim Kutluay, 11 Kaya Peker, 12 Hüseyin Beşok, 13 Mehmet Okur, 14 Haluk Yıldırım, 15 Ömer Onan
----
2002 FIBA World Cup: finished 9th among 16 teams
4 Kerem Tunçeri, 5 Hidayet Türkoğlu, 6 Mirsad Türkcan, 7 Hakan Köseoğlu, 8 Asım Pars, 9 Harun Erdenay ', 10 İbrahim Kutluay, 11 Kaya Peker, 12 Hüseyin Beşok, 13 Mehmet Okur, 14 Haluk Yıldırım, 15 Ömer Onan
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2003 EuroBasket: finished 12th among 16 teams
4 Kerem Tunçeri, 5 Hidayet Türkoğlu, 6 Mirsad Türkcan, 7 Ender Arslan, 8 Kerem Gönlüm, 9 Rasim Başak, 10 İbrahim Kutluay, 11 Kaya Peker, 12 Hüseyin Beşok, 13 Mehmet Okur, 14 Haluk Yıldırım, 15 Ömer Onan
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2005 EuroBasket: finished 9th among 16 teams
4 Kerem Tunçeri, 5 Ermal Kurtoğlu, 6 Mirsad Türkcan, 7 Ender Arslan, 8 Cenk Akyol, 9 Serkan Erdoğan, 10 İbrahim Kutluay, 11 Fatih Solak, 12 Kerem Gönlüm, 13 Mehmet Okur, 14 Kaya Peker, 15 Hidayet Türkoğlu
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2006 FIBA World Cup: finished 6th among 24 teams
4 Cenk Akyol, 5 Ermal Kurtoğlu, 6 Engin Atsür, 7 Ender Arslan, 8 Ersan İlyasova, 9 Serkan Erdoğan, 10 İbrahim Kutluay, 11 Fatih Solak, 12 Kerem Gönlüm, 13 Semih Erden, 14 Kaya Peker, 15 Hakan Demirel
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2007 EuroBasket: finished 11th among 16 teams
4 Ender Arslan, 5 Ermal Kurtoğlu, 6 Engin Atsür, 7 Cenk Akyol, 8 Ersan İlyasova, 9 Semih Erden, 10 Hakan Demirel, 11 İbrahim Kutluay, 12 Kerem Gönlüm, 13 Mehmet Okur, 14 Kaya Peker, 15 Hidayet Türkoğlu
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2009 EuroBasket: finished 8th among 16 teams
4 Bekir Yarangüme, 5 Sinan Güler, 6 Engin Atsür, 7 Ömer Onan, 8 Ersan İlyasova, 9 Barış Hersek, 10 Kerem Tunçeri, 11 Oğuz Savaş, 12 Semih Erden, 13 Ender Arslan, 14 Ömer Aşık, 15 Hidayet Türkoğlu
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2010 FIBA World Cup: finished 2nd among 24 teams
4 Cenk Akyol, 5 Sinan Güler, 6 Barış Ermiş, 7 Ömer Onan, 8 Ersan İlyasova, 9 Semih Erden, 10 Kerem Tunçeri, 11 Oğuz Savaş, 12 Kerem Gönlüm, 13 Ender Arslan, 14 Ömer Aşık, 15 Hidayet Türkoğlu '
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2011 EuroBasket: finished 11th among 24 teams
4 Cenk Akyol, 5 Sinan Güler, 6 Emir Preldžič, 7 Ömer Onan, 8 Ersan İlyasova, 9 İzzet Türkyılmaz, 10 Kerem Tunçeri, 11 Oğuz Savaş, 12 Ömer Aşık, 13 Ender Arslan, 14 Enes Kanter, 15 Hidayet Türkoğlu '
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2013 EuroBasket: finished 17th among 24 teams
4 Doğuş Balbay, 5 Sinan Güler, 6 Emir Preldžič, 7 Birkan Batuk, 8 Ersan İlyasova, 9 Semih Erden, 10 Serhat Çetin, 11 Oğuz Savaş, 12 Kerem Gönlüm, 13 Ender Arslan, 14 Ömer Aşık, 15 Hidayet Türkoğlu '
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2014 FIBA World Cup: finished 8th among 24 teams
4 Cedi Osman, 5 Sinan Güler, 6 Barış Ermiş, 7 Cenk Akyol, 8 Barış Hersek, 9 Emir Preldžič, 10 Kerem Tunçeri, 11 Oğuz Savaş, 12 Kerem Gönlüm, 13 Ender Arslan, 14 Ömer Aşık, 15 Furkan Aldemir
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2015 EuroBasket: finished 14th among 24 teams
4 Kartal Özmızrak, 5 Sinan Güler , 6 Cedi Osman, 7 Barış Hersek, 8 Ersan İlyasova, 9 Semih Erden, 10 Melih Mahmutoğlu, 11 Oğuz Savaş, 12 Furkan Korkmaz, 13 Ali Muhammed, 14 Göksenin Köksal, 15 Furkan Aldemir
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2017 EuroBasket: finished 14th among 24 teams
2 Erkan Veyseloğlu, 4 Doğuş Balbay, 5 Sinan Güler, 6 Cedi Osman, 7 Barış Hersek, 9 Semih Erden, 10 Melih Mahmutoğlu, 19 Furkan Aldemir, 21 Sertaç Şanlı, 22 Furkan Korkmaz, 25 Kenan Sipahi, 61 Göksenin Köksal
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2019 FIBA World Cup: finished 22nd among 32 teams
1 Scottie Wilbekin, 4 Doğuş Balbay, 5 Metecan Birsen, 6 Cedi Osman, 8 Ersan İlyasova, 9 Semih Erden, 10 Melih Mahmutoğlu, 11 Ege Arar, 19 Buğrahan Tuncer, 21 Sertaç Şanlı, 22 Furkan Korkmaz, 24 Yiğit Arslan

Memorable victories

Kit

Manufacturer

2015: Adidas

Sponsor

2015: Garanti