By Michalis Gioulenoglou/ info@eurohoops.net
Riga, Latvia – The head coach of Turkiye, Ergin Ataman, opened up on additional crowd presence in Xiaomi Arena for the Semifinals of EuroBasket 2025 opposite Greece.
“I expect our airlines to operate additional flights to Riga and for many fans from Turkiye to support us in this game. We will be playing a historic semifinal against Greece. Fan support is very important,” the 59-year-old play-caller told Anadolu Agency.
Approximately 4,000 tickets remain available for the matchup versus the team coached by Vassilis Spanoulis on Friday. In addition to a possible arrival of more Turkish supporters, at least 1,000 more fans from Greece are also expected at the Latvian capital.
Ataman’s team at the club level, Panathinaikos, will be represented on the Greek side by Panagiotis Kalaitzakis, Konstantinos Mitoglou, Kostas Sloukas, Alexandros Samodurov, and Vassilis Toliopoulos, besides Cedi Osman and Omer Yurtseven on the Turkish side. A meeting of seven players before joining forces in the 2025-26 installment of the EuroLeague and domestic competitions in Greece.
The Istanbul-born coach launched his second spell as the selector of the senior national team of his country in 2022. In his first stint, he coached in the FIBA World Cup 2014 and EuroBasket 2015, ranking 8th and 14th, respectively. Bouncing back, his efforts went into tenth place in the final standings of EuroBasket 2022. An undefeated run through the preliminary round in Riga, combined with wins over Sweden and Poland in the knockout stage, has guaranteed at least fourth place in the ongoing international campaign.
In charge of the Greek side, 43-year-old Spanoulis was hired as the selector in 2023, shortly after switching from a legendary playing career to coaching. Taking over, he guided his home country to eighth place in the Paris Olympic Games 2024, following a triumph in the preceding FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Piraeus. At the club level, the native of Larissa is the head coach of AS Monaco.
Photo Credit: FIBA