June 22, 2016
Countdown to Manila OQT: 13 days
The Turkish national basketball team pool for the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manila, Philippines has been reduced to 15, FIBA reported on Tuesday.
New Orleans Pelicans center Omer Asik and NBA draftee Cedi Osman are still part of the 15-man pool.
Completing the cast are Ender Arslan, Dogus Balbay, Birkan Batuk, Semih Erden, Samet Geyik, Sinan Guler, Baris Hersek, Furkan Korkmaz, Melih Mahmutoglu, Ali Muhammed, Can Mutaf, Oguz Savas, and Kenan Sipahi.
Turkey’s naturalized point guard Ali Muhammed, also known as Bobby Dixon, is expected to suit up for the country for the second time. Muhammed debuted for Turkey in the 2015 EuroBasket.
He averaged 11.4 PPG on 37.9 percent three-point shooting, 3.3 RPG, and 3.6 APG, 37.9 3 PT for Turkish club team Fenerbahce in the 2015-16 EuroLeague.
Turkey, which qualified for the FIBA OQT as an invitee, is trying to end a 64-year Olympic drought. The team has made only two appearances so far in the Olympic games.
