Türkiye ready to tip off EuroBasket 2022 campaign against Montenegro
Türkiye national men's basketball team poses for a photo prior to leaving for Tbilisi, Istanbul, Türkiye, Aug. 31, 2022. (IHA Photo)


Türkiye men's national basketball team will tip off its EuroBasket 2022 campaign Thursday when it faces Montenegro in the Georgian capital Tbilisi.

The national team will be looking to make a good start to the tournament in their first match in Group A, which also includes host Georgia, Spain, Bulgaria and Belgium.

Türkiye will be banking on its group of NBA-based players, including the Houston Rockets' Alperen Şengün, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Cedi Osman and Philadelphia 76ers' Furkan Korkmaz.

It also features US Turkish player Shane Larkin, a key member from the 2021/22 THY EuroLeauge-winning Anadolu Efes squad, as well as Sertaç Şanlı, who plays for European giant Barcelona.

The match at the Tbilisi Arena will begin at 5:15 p.m. local time and will be live on private broadcaster NTV.

In the other two Group A matches tomorrow, Spain will face Bulgaria and Belgium will take on Georgia.

Türkiye's next match will be on Sept. 3 against neighboring Bulgaria, before it battle host Georgia on Sept. 4.

Led by European coaching great Ergin Ataman, the Turkish team will then face Belgium on Sept. 6 and take on Spain the next day.

A total of 24 teams are competing in four groups of six in the European Championship.

The countries that finish in the top four in their groups will advance to the second round and will meet in the round of 16, to be held on Sept. 10-11.

This year's EuroBasket is being jointly hosted by Czech Republic, Georgia, Italy and Germany.

Türkiye Squad

Alperen Şengün, Buğrahan Tuncer, Cedi Osman, Ercan Osmani, Furkan Korkmaz, Melih Mahmutoğlu, Onuralp Bitim, Sadık Emir Kabaca, Sertaç Şanlı, Shane Larkin, Şehmus Hazer, and Yiğitcan Saybir.