Ergin Ataman, who is the coach of Turkey's men's basketball team, dismissed FIBA's latest EuroBasket 2025 power rankings, which have his team ranked as the second-favorites for the championship.
The team's high place in the rankings is not hard to observe, considering the fact that they are yet to lose a game at the tournament. Even after facing tournament favorites Nikola Jokic and Serbia, Ataman led his team out of Group A with a perfect 5-0 record.
But his side's amazing form is not enough for the coach to agree or show trust in power rankings, as he expressed on Tuesday:
“We don’t think about whether we are the best or the worst Turkish team, we are here to win a medal. FIBA likes to make these things, the power rankings, they are bulls***,” he said. “The reality is on the court and in the victory. We will see in the next games what position we take at the EuroBasket.”
Turkey continued its excellent run on Saturday, defeating Sweden in the round of 16 and securing its place in the quarter-finals.
Many teams, such as Serbia and France,, which were termed as favorites for the title, have dropped out. But Ataman's team continues to establish its dominance on the big stage, taking down one contender at a time.