Fenerbahce signs Sarunas Jasikevicius! Here is the date...

Cem Ciritci, Fenerbahçe Club Board Member in charge of Basketball, said that they are in negotiations with head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius for a new contract and that he expects the signatures to be signed around December.

Cem Ciritci, who arrived in Munich for Fenerbahçe Beko's games against Israeli teams Maccabi Rapyd and Hapoel IBI in Munich, Germany, answered the questions of AA correspondent.

Underlining that they play their home matches in Germany due to Israel's attacks on Palestine, Ciritci said, "This situation brings us certain difficulties. But we play in Germany as if we are at home. Our team is preparing well. Our motivation is also good. We were together with our basketball players at the football match last weekend. There was a good unity there as well."

Stating that the team could not make a good start to the season, Ciritci said, "We are going through the same processes as last season. There are 5 players who left and 4 players who replaced them. 3 of them are from the USA and they suffered injuries as soon as they arrived. Jantunen also came from the European Championship. They are just adapting to our coach's tactics and training methods. When they find this harmony, we will again be the number 1 candidate for the Final Four and the league."

- "We want to work for many years"

Stating that they are constantly working on transfers, Cem Ciritci said, "We are constantly in contact with our coach. We are negotiating on the players we like. We are ready to make the transfer that our coach deems appropriate and the conditions fit."

Speaking about the contract of head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius, Ciritci said:

"We are very happy with our coach. His character, his ambition on the court, his influence on the players and the fans is very harmonious. We are very pleased and we want to work with him for many years. Our negotiations about this are ongoing. Our negotiations are progressing a bit slowly because the match schedules are very busy. But there is no problem. I hope we will be able to finalize it by December."

Emphasizing that Fenerbahçe and Anadolu Efes have made great investments in basketball, Ciritci said:

"We are the locomotive club for Turkish basketball. We make a very important contribution to the sport both in infrastructure and women's basketball. This will continue to develop. We have 2 men's and 2 women's EuroLeague championships. This has increased interest in basketball among the younger generation. We want to make a revolution in the infrastructure as well. We are working on this under the leadership of our president. Our related executive friends will announce this soon. This is very important for us. Having players from the youth adds value to us. There is a player shortage in Europe. You cannot find players in the position you want. This is a handicap. One of the ways to solve this is to value the infrastructure and we are working on this. If the clubs didn't show so much interest and investment, I think the success of the national team would be difficult to achieve. This is a team game and a game that requires continuity. In our league, we have 8-10 top-level teams at European level. All of these teams add value to the national team."

- "There is an air of brotherhood, unity and solidarity in the team"

Ciritci also spoke about the decrease in the point difference with the leader Galatasaray to 1 in the Trendyol Super League and drew attention to the matches to be played after the national break.

Underlining that he was speaking both as a fan and as a manager, Ciritci said, "Our goal is to win the matches against Çaykur Rizespor and Galatasaray. We have full belief in this. I predict that we will complete the first half as the leader. There is an atmosphere of brotherhood, integrity and unity in the team. Our president was saying this before the election. We see that this is not in words but in deeds. All of us are interested in all our athletes in their own branches one-on-one. The positive influence coming from the president spreads to everyone. The change in the atmosphere in Samandıra, the way the athletes hold on to each other, the way they embrace Tedesco is not surprising to us, we predicted this would happen. This situation is also promising. Better days await Fenerbahce."

Speaking about the referees and footballers referred to the PFDK for betting, Ciritci said:

"We don't know much about the details. Investigations are ongoing, it would not be right to say anything. We are always in favor of the truth, let whoever is right or whoever is wrong come out. If this needs to be answered in the face of justice, the people involved in this matter will either be acquitted or accused in the face of justice. Of course, we want a clean league in both basketball and football."

Lastly, Ciritci sent a message to the fans, "We ask for a little more patience. Last year this team went through the same processes. We meet with our coach every day for the necessary reinforcements. We are ready to fulfill them when he sees fit. Hopefully, we will achieve better results soon."