The Turkish men's national basketball team will tip off its 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifying campaign against Belarus Thursday.
Turkey is in Group B with Belarus, Great Britain and bitter rivals Greece.
The game between Turkey and Belarus in Minsk's Sports Palace will begin at 4:30 p.m. GMT.
Turkey will later take on Great Britain in Istanbul's Sinan Erdem Arena on Sunday.
The team will be led by Anadolu Efes playmaker guard Shane Larkin, Fenerbahçe Beko shooting guard Melih Mahmutoğlu and Barcelona center Sertaç Şanlı.
Turkish NBA stars Cedi Osman (Cleveland Cavaliers), Furkan Korkmaz (Philadelphia 76ers), Alperen Şengün (Houston Rockets), and Ömer Faruk Yurtseven (Miami Heat) will be out of this week's roster due to their current obligations.
In the first round, 32 teams will compete in eight groups, playing home and away games. The best three nations from each group will qualify for the second round.
The qualifiers will be held between November 2021 and February 2023.
Twenty-four teams will reach the second round to compete in four groups, but only 12 European countries will go to the 2023 FIBA World Cup, to be jointly hosted by the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
