In an interview published by the U-16 Türk Telekom official website Barbaros Akkas, Turkey National Teams Manager, made evaluations regarding the coming event. "Not everyone has the chance to watch the championships of this caliber. Therefore we should bring these teams which participate to the European and World Championships to our country, hence our people can live the atmosphere of such tournaments. The tournament had been formally organized as Hikmet Erdem Tournament. In the last five years it is sponsored by Turk Telekom. It used to be held in Sakarya but we moved the tournament to Anatolia and Gaziantep will host this important tournament this year".
"While evaluating the candidate cities, we take some principle criteria into the consideration. We should minimize the durations of transfers and accommodate the guests in the best way possible. Therefore airport, hotels and also the venues must match some certain criteria", said Barbaros Akkas. "This year China and Puerto Rico, two overseas country, will participate to the tournament. The tournament exceeded the borders of Europe and became a world organization. It will be like a mini world championship with 12 teams. FIBA Referees Seminar will also be held along with the tournament. Future FIBA and Euroleague referees will be educated here and be given duties in the matches of the tournament. This is another importance of this tournament", Barbaros Akkas said.
Akkas reminded that players like Hidayet Turkoglu, Kerem Tunceri, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker and Peja Stojakovic have played in this tournament in the previous years and says. "The players whom we’ll watch in this tournament will become the stars of their national teams in 5-6 years of time. This tournament add much to their experience. From City Directorate of Youth and Sport to Governor, local authorities have been helping us a lot. They expressed their desire to host the tournament in the first place. It’s the first time Gaziantep is hosting a such organization. Our team recently won the Iscar Tournament in Spain without losing a single game. This team is the result of a wide scouting effort done two years ago. They are selected from more than a thousand players. There are some serious candidates among them for the national team", concluded Barbaros Akkas.
