National Team Tries to Adapt to a New System with a New Coach

The Turkish women's national basketball team will face Montenegro, Israel and Poland in the second round of the FIBA 2027 Women's EuroBasket Qualifiers. The team met with members of the press during a media day held ahead of the matches.

General Manager Arzu Özyiğit and captain Olcay Çakır Turgut spoke at the meeting. Çakır Turgut said that they are trying to adjust to a different system with new head coach Frederic Dusart. She noted that everyone had been working with a different structure at their clubs, so they are all trying to adapt to a new system together. She said that starting with a new coach is one challenge, and that the players being very tired is another.

The captain shared that two training sessions had been held during the preparation period and that several more sessions remained ahead of them. Saying the process is going well, Çakır Turgut noted that they want to begin the matches with the best possible preparation.

Özyiğit expressed her pleasure at being back in the national team. Emphasizing that the players joined the camp, held in the middle of a very busy season, with great dedication, and that they trained despite having played a match the day before and dealing with aches and pains, Özyiğit said she believes the team will represent its country well. She stated that they want to first secure a ticket to the European Championship, and then focus on medal and Olympic goals.