Sengun: I hope to be a good role model for young players

Alperen Sengun (2002) was key for Turkey to beat Sweden on Saturday, as the hosts clinched their EuroBasket 2022 spot.
The young gun scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, in a high-level battle with Jonas Jerebko, who scored 21.

He had a long interview out on FIBA website. Here are some quotes:

“Not a lot of young players can get this kind of a chance. It was like a blessing for me, Hazer and Haltali. This is what we get in return for hard work. We managed to use the opportunity and will continue to use it, which is very important for Turkish basketball. I hope we can be good examples to the younger ones.”

“I receive a lot of messages from the boys younger than me, writing that they want to be like me in the future and they are working for that. This makes me very happy and I hope I will be a good role model to them. It is also good for our basketball that we have young talents coming.”

“My first game was not that good, my performance was lower than my performances in Turkish Super League. I did not expect that I will play this good, but I was thinking that I am going to contribute to the team for sure. For the game against Sweden, it was a game made for me, as our opponent’s force under the hoop wasn’t so strong, so I played efficiently. I still think I could have been better and contributed more on defense. I did my best and it was a good game for me overall.”