The 12 Giant Men's World Cup campaign begins: First opponent is Lithuania

The Turkish Men's National Basketball Team will face their first test in the FIBA 2027 World Cup European Qualifiers Second Round Group J against Lithuania. The 12 Giant Men will look for a victory in front of their home fans in the match to be played at the Turkcell Basketball Development Center on Friday, August 28.

The match will start at 21:00. The crescent-star team finished the first round as leaders of Group C with 6 wins in 6 games. Lithuania, on the other hand, took second place in Group D with three wins and three losses.

TURKEY HAS THE ADVANTAGE IN GROUP J

In the format where teams carry their win and loss counts from the first round into the second round, Turkey enters Group J as one of the most advantaged teams. The national team aims to strengthen its position on the road to the World Cup with the result they will get against Lithuania.

The National Team will face Lithuania for the 13th time in official matches. Of the 12 official matches played between the two teams since 1997, Turkey has won 3 and Lithuania has won 9.

The national team played its last official match against Lithuania in the 2014 World Cup quarterfinals. In the match held in Barcelona, Spain, the crescent-stars left the court with a 73-61 defeat.

The Turkish Men's National Basketball Team, under the management of Ergin Ataman, began preparations for the second round on August 16. Traveling to Germany on August 18, Turkey lost 95-94 to Croatia in the Turkish Airlines DBB Süper Cup held in Hamburg, and finished the tournament in third place by defeating Czechia 99-84.

The candidate squad includes Darius Karutasu, Ercan Osmani, Erkan Yılmaz, Kenan Sipahi, Malachi Flynn, Berk İbrahim Uğurlu, Furkan Korkmaz, Metecan Birsen, Onuralp Bitim, Sertaç Şanlı, Şehmus Hazer, Yiğitcan Saybir, Yiğit Arslan, Cedi Osman, Adem Bona, Ömer Faruk Yurtseven, and Ömer Kutluay.