Turkish club Tofas SC will play host to the inaugural edition of the Youth Basketball Champions League in two venues in the city of Bursa, and the first-ever champions will be crowned on Saturday, April 15 in the Tofas Nilüfer Spor arena.

"We are always trying to find better games for our young players which are very important to give them real competition and get experience. If you only face Turkish teams it is not a real view of how you are developing. If you play against high level organizations you can see where you are and can gain self-confidence as well as see your strengths and weaknesses. This is a good point to develop players at this age to prepare them for the A-team.
It is also a big pleasure to host this event for the first time. It gives us as a club more motivation to not only improve our basketball but our whole program and we see that we are on a good path - for the players but also for the organization."

- Samir Seleskovic, Tofas’ Technical Coordinator youth program and basketball player development coach

History of the Program | Domestic Success

U18

Champions 1992, 1999, 2011, 2014

U16

Champions 1978, 2001, 2002

U19 league (started in 2017-18)

Runners Up in 2021, losing 81-80 in the Final to Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in overtime on a buzzer beater.

Recent Youth Developments

Tofas has relied for many years almost exclusively on youth players from the Bursa area. The club in June 2016 opened the Mustafa V. Koc Sports Hall, which spreads out over 5,800 square meters and consists of three basketball courts with baskets up to NBA standards, a fitness center, rehabilitation area and offices. Tofas also during the 2020-21 season started a cooperation with second division club Arkan Gemlik - located about 15 minutes outside Bursa - to serve as a second team where youngsters can play at a higher level.

YBCL Player to Watch

Ozgur Cengiz | 2005 | PG

Cengiz played for Turkey at the FIBA U16 European Challengers 2021 and FIBA U18 European Championship 2022, the latter in which he helped the country finish in second place. Cengiz has played in six games Tofas’ senior team. He has good court vision and is a team leader with a high basketball IQ. Cengiz has good speed and a good first step. He still must improve his shooting a bit and his decision making needs to be a little better. He wants to do everything which leads to more turnovers.

Program Alumni

Mehmet Ökur | Kenan Sipahi | Berkan Durmaz | Samet Geyik | Muhsin Yasar | Yigit Arslan | Tevfik Akdamar | Emre Tanisan | Berke Buyuktuncel | Bora Satir | Batin Tuna | Ege Demir

Yigit Arslan came from the Tofas youth program and played with the club between 2014-2019 and 2021-2022. He is the youth player from the program currently performing best in the European area and in the Turkish National Team. Arslan took part in the squad of the U18 National Team, which won the U18 European Basketball Championship in 2014. He is currently playing for Bahçeşehir College who currently compete in the Basketball Champions League Round of 16.

Yigit Arslan in 2021 for Tofas Bursa, now suiting up for Bahcesehir Koleji from Istanbul in the Basketball Champions League Round of 16.