It was decided to have surgery in Pınar Karşıyaka, where Semih Erden and Michael Roll underwent surgery during the season, and lastly, after James Blackmon suffered an injury in the Anadolu Efes match.
Apart from these names, Alex Tyus, Amath M’Baye and Tony Taylor also had to play in some matches despite their injuries.
Head coach Sarıca told AA correspondent that although they did their best to continue on their way in the FIBA Champions League, they were eliminated by Lenovo Tenerife in the play-in round.
Stating that they have increased their expectations at the beginning of the season with the staff they have established, Sarıca said:
“It is a fact that we could not be on the field with the squad we formed at the beginning of the season. Since we do not have a squad of 18-19 people, it is not easy to make up for it on the road. We brought the Tenerife series to the last game with missing squads. Maybe with one last rebound we will get there, we took the lead 64-61 in the section. “We had a very easy three-pointer, we would continue today. There is no excuse, there is truth. At the moment, with our 14-man squad with 6 foreign players, we could not compete in any competition except for the Hapoel Jerusalem match this year.”
Emphasizing that they did their best despite everything, Sarıca said, “We are living an indescribably unfortunate season. This has reflections on the field as well. It’s okay if the matches are lost far away, but there are matches where we lost 1-2 balls. We could have won the first match in Tenerife, but it didn’t happen. There are such things in sports.” used the expressions.
“Cups and matches are never won on paper”
Stating that it is wrong to be shown as the favorite at the beginning of the season, Sarıca said, “Cups and matches are never won on paper. What can be done after today? We will continue with the rest.” he said.
Sarıca pointed out that they won a very important victory against Anadolu Efes in the ING Basketball Super League with an incomplete squad, and announced that James Blackmon, who was injured in this match, will be separated from the team for 2-2.5 months after the operation.
“We want to gain the field advantage in the play-off stage”.
Reminding that they are in the top 4 in the league, Sarıca said, “We want to stay in the top 4 in order to gain the field advantage in the play-off stage. If the Turkish Cup is played, we have a chance like every other team. Daily performances in the cup and the squads on the field will be important. It is not clear whether our injured players will catch up, but we will put forward our claim there. At the end of the league, we will do our best to finish the play-off stage in the best place.” made its assessment.
Stating that Semih Erden has just started running after the operation and Michael Roll will return to Turkey at the beginning of February, Sarıca said, “I hope they can catch up with the Turkish Cup or after the cup. Then of course we will be a more organized squad.” he concluded by saying.
