By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
With exactly one week to go until the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Draw, Final Round hosts Turkey have announced Russia as their partner federation.
The announcement, coming on Tuesday, means that all four FIBA EuroBasket 2017 host countries have selected their partnering federations. The other three partnerships bring together Finland and Iceland; Israel and Lithuania; and Romania and Hungary.
The partnership concept was developed for EuroBasket 2015 with a strong emphasis on assisting in ticket sales. The host federation partners are guaranteed to be drawn into the same group as their hosts at next Tuesday’s Draw.
Newly-elected Turkish Basketball Federation President Hidayet Turkoglu was delighted to have come to the agreement with Russia.
“First of all, I would like to thank the Russian Basketball Federation for sharing this honour with us. Both of the federations have been hoping to become partners for the huge competition that is FIBA EuroBasket 2017.
“We are extremely happy to have created a platform for the sports fans of the two nations where basketball lovers can experience unique basketball jubilation.
“We are inviting Russian basketball fans to experience the unique beauty of Istanbul alongside seeing the exciting games. Likewise, we fully believe that the enthusiastic Turkish audience would fill the games if they were being played in Russia.”
Russian Basketball Federation President Andrei Kirilenko shared similar sentiments to those of Turkoglu.
“It is of no surprise that we have this agreement with the Turkish Basketball Federation. Our nations are closely linked. I have no doubt that FIBA EuroBasket 2017 in Istanbul will be organised at the highest possible level.
“Turkey pays great attention to the development and promotion of sports in general, as well as to the organisation of major international competitions such as the 2010 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
“I’m very pleased that our teams will be drawn in the same group as all our games in the past have always been played in a competitive manner and have attracted plenty of fans. I’m confident that we will have great support from our fans throughout our participation.”
FIBA Executive Director Europe Kamil Novak made reference to the strong basketball traditions of the two nations. “This sets a wonderful precedent to see two federations, who in recent history have regularly been amongst the strongest teams at FIBA EuroBasket, coming together.
“With this announcement, we complete the process of agreeing on partner federations and I am sure that all four of our host federations will benefit greatly from the partnerships they have created.”
The FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Draw will take place in Ciragan Palace Kempinski in Istanbul on 22 November, beginning at 15:00 CET.