Fiba President Pleased To Choose Kayseri As One Of Venues

The president of the Federation of International Basketball Federation (FIBA) said on Monday that he was pleased to choose the Turkish central city of Kayseri as one of the venues of the 2010 World Basketball Championship.
FIBA President Bob Elphinston eulogized Kayseri, which was hosting Group A games in the championship.
The federation was impressed with Turkey's young population and hard-working feature when they picked Turkey in 2004 to host the world championship, Elphinston said during his meeting with Deputy Mayor Serdar Altuntug of Kayseri.
Elphinston said the federation was also affected by the importance Turkish government and local administrations attached to the event.
Kayseri was not supposed to host the championship, however it was involved in the bid when problems occurred with the arena construction in the Mediterranean province of Antalya, Elphinston said.
The federation had once more seen how right its decision to prefer Kayseri was, Elphinston also said.
FIBA 2010 World Basketball Championship, the largest basketball event of the planet, was officially inaugurated with a spectacular ceremony in Istanbul on Friday and games kicked off in 4 Turkish cities, namely Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Kayseri on Saturday.
Turkey hosts a basketball tournament of such a magnitude for the first time in its history.
The tournament will end on September 12.
(BRC)