The rise of Turkish basketball continues with both Fenerbahçe Beko and Anadolu Efes in the EuroLeague Final Four. This Sunday, Turkish basketball lovers hope for one thing: A 10th European championship title for Turkish basketball
This year, for the first time in history, two Turkish teams qualified for the EuroLeague Final Four in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. With a guarantee that one of the Turkish teams will break a sweat in the finals on Sunday, May 19, Turkey eyes its 10th European Cup in the history of Turkish basketball clubs.
In the previous years, Anadolu Efes, Beşiktaş, Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe and Darüşşafaka were crowned champions in men's basketball in Europe, while Galatasaray's women's basketball team brought home the trophy three times. The Near East University's women's basketball team, on the other hand, took home the FIBA European Cup. Fenerbahçe Beko and Anadolu Efes will take the field to win the cup for the second time in their history, while they will also be competing for the 10th European trophy in Turkish basketball history.
Fenerbahçe was the only Turkish team to triumph in the European league. Fenerbahçe took the THY European league cup to its museum in the 2016-17 season, marking the greatest victory in the history of Turkish basketball. Turkish basketball had its first European victory in 1996 with Anadolu Efes. The team, called Efes Pilsen back then under the management of the head coach Aydın Örs, achieved a great success story under the leadership of Macedonian player Petar Naumoski. The team marked the first big success of Turkish basketball by winning against Italia's Stefanel Milano for Europe's second-biggest trophy, the Koraç Cup's final in the 1995-96 season.
Turkish basketball won its second men's European cup with Beşiktaş. The team was named champion in the FIBA EuroChallenge Cup, Europe's third-biggest trophy, in the 2011-12 season under the management of Ergin Ataman. Galatasaray won four of the European cups that Turkey previously brought home in basketball. Galatasaray Odeabank men's basketball team won the ULEB European Cup in the 2015-16 season under the management of Ergin Ataman. Galatasaray's women's basketball team, on the other hand, won the FIBA Europe League in the 2013-14 season along with two FIBA European Cup championships in 2008-09 and 2017-18. Near East University's women's basketball team also took home the FIBA European Cup, scoring another victory for the Turkish basketball.