Turkey have quickly re-established themselves as a European basketball power with their unbeaten run in Eurobasket qualifying the proof.

A 77-59 triumph over Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday, with NBA stars Hedo Turkoglu and Mehmet Okur leading the way, improved their record in Group E to four wins and no defeats.

They are already guaranteed a place in next year's Championships in Serbia & Montenegro because only Bosnia-Herzegovina, who have two wins, can equal their record but they will lose out to the Turks on the head-to-head comparison.

Saturday's other Group E game saw the Netherlands beat Estonia 76-72, leaving both sides with a win and three defeats.

		Turkish basketball has not had much to celebrate since Eurobasekt silver in 2001

The results come as a huge relief to all of those involved in the Turkish game, where there were fears that hoops was on the way down in the country.

Turkey hosted the 2001 Eurobasket and finished runners-up to Yugoslavia but their form dropped off considerably the next two years.

They had a disappointing ninth-placed finish at the World Championships in Indianapolis in 2002, and the following year at the Eurobasket in Sweden, Turkey were 12th.

Their change in fortunes started with the appointment of coach Bogdan Tanjevic as a replacement for former boss Aydin Ors, who led them at the Eurobasket in Sweden.

Tanjevic organised training camps and opened the door to a lot of players who were previously not being considered for selection.

"This was a mistake of us all, including myself," said Dogan Hakyemez, the general manager of the national team.

"We had stopped calling on the younger players. Only Aydin Ors gave a chance to younger players, but that was limited to the players he himself had developed.

"The younger players of other teams didn't have any chance. The players not playing in the league didn't have a chance."

Hakyemez says the Serbo-Montenegrin Tanjevic, who led Italy to a European title in 1999, has made a huge difference.

"Tanjevic has used players who didn't play in the league as well," Hakyemez said.

"He tried out 55-60 players and gave them a chance. Now, if the coaches agree on this, they will give them a chance in the league as well.

"Turkish basketball will reach an unexpected plateau. If they don't do that, the Turkish people will question the guilty parties."

Young players who have impressed Tanjevic are Fatih Solak, Baris Ermis, Cenk Akyol, Hakan Demirel and Ersan Ozseven.

"Our younger players like Fatih, Baris, Hakan, Ersan, and Cenk, will play at the 2005 European Championships," Hakyemez said.

There will be NBA experience in Serbia & Montenegro, too, with Okur, Turkuglu and Ibrahim Kutluay, a 30-year-old who is expected to sign for Seattle on Wednesday.

		Hakan Demirel is one of Turkey's up-and-coming talents

The talent pool, indeed, is very deep.

Hakyemez added: "It would be a mistake to forget about Mirsad (Turkcan). He opened up the road to the NBA and the others followed. He is still playing in Europe. Other than this, Engin Atsur is playing in the NCAA."

All of this, Hakyemez says, should quiet the doom and gloom mongers.

"These are a slap to the critics who claim that Turkish basketball has hit the bottom," he said.

The signs of recovery were evident before the Olympics, when Turkey played two friendlies against Team USA. The Turks only suffered narrow defeats and those hard games clearly helped build confidence.

They have looked like a well-oiled machine the past two weeks.

Tanjevic, after their latest victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina, was full of optimism.

"This was our best game," he said.

"It was a very good game for us. We reached our best performance in this game. We held our opponents to a 30% shooting."

Tanjevic did acknowledge that their opponents may not have been at their best.

"They arrived here with four different flights," he said.

"Their tiredness was an important factor for the result. But I am happy with the performances of my players in general. Our taller players couldn't get to the rebounds as much and the guards couldn't help the rebounders much.

"But we still won with a big margin.

"If we accept the team being a new team, such problems should be accepted as normal.

"But they are getting better every day."

Okur, who scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 30 minutes, will play no more part in this summer's games as he is going to take a break before joining up with his new NBA team, the Utah Jazz.

He became the first Turkish player to capture an NBA title when the Detroit Pistons upset the Los Angeles Lakers this summer and that helped earn him a lucrative move to Utah as a free agent.

"This was Mehmet Okur's last game with us," Tanjevic said.

"He will use a five-day vacation and then join Utah Jazz camp."

Kutluay, too, will play no further part as he puts the finishing touches on his new contract with Seattle.

The 30-year-old flew to the US on Sunday.

Turkey need neither, however, for their remaining two games against Estonia and the Netherlands because the hard work has already been done.