By Semih Tuna/ info@eurohoops.net
NBA Europe Director George Aivazoglou announced the main candidates for the 12 core cities participating in the NBA Europe project, which included one spot in Istanbul.
Galatasaray President Dursun Ozbek spoke to Anadolu Agency and repeated that Galatasaray is the main candidate.
As he said in the past, Ozbek confirmed that Galatasaray is the main candidate to join the project, representing Turkey.
Ozbek also gave more details about the criteria of the NBA, describing a meeting he had with FIBA: “Regarding the NBA Europe project, the gentleman at the helm of FIBA (Sheikh Saud Ali Al Thani) invited us to FIBA Headquarters. When I went there, I asked them, ‘You’re going to do the NBA Europe project, but why did you invite Galatasaray?’ They told me they were impressed by two things. First, they said, “We were interested in your basketball arena project, and we can support you in this regard.” Second, and more importantly, they said, “You held your last championship celebration at Yenikapı, and despite the rain, you gathered 1 million fans there. They said they found those images very significant”.
So, having a new arena will be key to Galatasaray’s inclusion in NBA Europe: “They said they found those images very significant. They said they found it very important that a sports club with such a large fan base would be in NBA Europe. They told us that they would support our arena project and that it was very important for a club like Galatasaray to be involved in this project. So, yes, we will be involved in the NBA Europe project.”