All-Star game squads announced

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Jordan Farmar (L) is one of six Efes players to be picked for the All-Star game. AA photo

Fenerbahçe Ülker forward Emir Preldzic and Anadolu Efes sharpshooter Sasha Vujacic led the voting for the weekend’s Beko All-Star Game, as the squads for the Turkish basketball showcase event were announced yesterday.

The match will be played at Ülker Sports Arena on Jan. 20 and will pit Turkish stars against international Stars, each selected from an online vote.

“It’s a great honor to be a part of this event. This will be my second time after last year. I hope it will be as fun as it was last year,” Vujacic said at a press conference for the event yesterday. “This is a chance to forget about the league’s high tempo and have some fun.”

Beko Basketball League leader Anadolu Efes will have six players in the game, with Sinan Güler, Kerem Gönlüm and Semih Erden on the Turkish side and Vujacic, Jordan Farmar and Dusko Savanovic on the international team. Fenerbahçe follows, with five players, including Turks Ömer Onan, İlkan Karaman and Preldzic as well as foreigners Bo McCalebb and Bojan Bogdanovic.

However, the online voting snubbed some important names, such as the league’s top three scorers, Michael Wright – who goes by the Turkish name of Ali Karadeniz – of Mersin BB, Jovo Stanojevic of TED Kolejliler and Steven Burtt of Tofaş.

While the league’s top rebounder, Joey Dorsey of Royal Gaziantep, made the list, TED Kolejliler’s Nedim Yücel, the second top rebounder of the league, and Türk Telekom guard Daniel Brown, the league’s leader in assists, did not make the cut.

Beşiktaş’s Gasper Vidmar was the highest-picked center in the voting, but he will miss the game due to injury.

Despite some high-profile snubs, Vujacic is confident of the high quality of the all-star teams.

“[The International Stars] could have won the Euroleague title if we played there,” Vujacic said.