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Karşıyaka Basketball has started the Türkiye Sigorta Basketball Super League season with two home wins in four weeks despite heavy financial problems and an inherited debt load of around $1 million. The Izmir club's first aim is to finish clear of the relegation zone, after last season's escape went down to the final matchday.

Club president Yiğit Tusder said the new board, elected at the June general congress, has restructured every branch and settled much of the basketball debt, while general manager Selim Çınar said the rebuilt roster is competitive and needs time to gel.

Last season's escape and a fresh start

Karşıyaka has competed in the top league for 53 consecutive seasons, but spent much of last season stuck near the bottom. It secured its place only in the final round, beating Bursaspor Basketbol 84-82 at home on a basket scored in the closing second.

The Izmir representative entered this season with a new management team, a new head coach and a rebuilt squad, and has collected two wins at home in the first four rounds.

Debt load and payment plan

Tusder told an AA reporter that the incoming board took over with a debt of about $1 million in the basketball branch. Only 60 percent of the advance portion of the outstanding FIBA debts has been paid, with monthly instalments still owed on several foreign players after the creditors agreed to release payments on those contracts.

The club has also cleared what it owed to 13 or 14 of its players, its head coach and the assistant coaches. Tusder said debts left over from last season's foreign players are now surfacing and will be renegotiated by mutual agreement on a fixed payment schedule, adding that paying the current roster comes first and that there are no problems for now.

Safety first, then the playoffs

Tusder said the season's target is to stay in the safe zone. "We don't want to go through again what happened last season and two years ago, being relegated or surviving on the last shot," he said. "Last season my wife, I and all our supporters cried. We are not used to these days. We are a club used to cups and success, in football, basketball and volleyball alike."

He said the club started out with the lowest budget in the Türkiye Basketball Super League and that its first goal is to remain in the league. With the latest additions to the squad, Tusder said the club can chase a playoff place, but finishing the season in the safe zone remains the priority.

A squad meant to excite

General manager Selim Çınar said the club had overcome a great deal despite the debt and had built a competitive team. "I said I hoped we could build a team that excites rather than frightens, and I think the feedback suggests we have done that," Çınar said.

Çınar said the club lost Xavier Munford to an unlucky injury in the Galatasaray game and signed a replacement who can stay for at least a short spell and, if needed, for the rest of the season. Çınar said the squad is based on the preferences of head coach Nenad Markovic, that the team's chemistry already looks good, and that the club wants to progress step by step and set its targets accordingly.

Key takeaways

• Karşıyaka has two home wins in the first four rounds of the Türkiye Sigorta Basketball Super League
• The club survived last season only after beating Bursaspor Basketbol 84-82 on a last-second basket
• President Yiğit Tusder said the board inherited about $1 million in basketball debt and has settled much of it
• The first goal is to stay clear of relegation, with a playoff place the next target