Lebanese Players Train in Türkiye: A New Basketball Journey
In a quiet gym in Eskisehir, far from the noise of Beirut and Istanbul, two young Lebanese players are trying to change the course of their careers.
No fanfare. No agents. Just a social media search, a leap of faith, and a six-day-a-week grind.
From online search to Turkish hardwood
Mariam Jomaa, a 22-year-old point guard for Beirut First Club and a Lebanese national team player, and 21-year-old center Razan Thebian of Tadamon Zouk, didn’t come to Türkiye on a club deal or a federation program. They came because of a Google search.
They looked up training options in Istanbul. Then Izmir. Then Eskisehir. They read about cities, clubs, and coaches. One name stood out: Ali Ihsan Kucuk, coach of Eskisehir Kaplanlari Sports Club.
They reached out directly. No intermediaries, no trials. Just a message: we want to work, we want to improve.
For Kucuk, it was a first. He had never been contacted by players from abroad specifically to travel to Türkiye just to train with him. Now he finds himself running an intensive pre-season camp for two ambitious Lebanese prospects who chose Eskisehir after studying both the city and his methods online.
Six days a week, no shortcuts
With about a month left before their domestic leagues resume in Lebanon, Jomaa and Thebian have thrown themselves into a demanding schedule.
Six days a week. Sessions of two to two and a half hours.
The program hits every layer of their game: athletic performance, shooting, fundamental skills, defensive schemes, offensive organization. The work is detailed, repetitive, and unforgiving—the kind of structure they came looking for.
Kucuk has focused first on their base: footwork, conditioning, core skills. From there, he has layered in defensive and offensive concepts, pushing them to read the floor faster, react quicker, and execute under pressure.
What has struck him most is not just their talent, but their attitude. Their energy, their determination, their willingness to absorb new ideas and admit what they don’t yet know. For a coach used to local players, this outside hunger has stood out.
Türkiye as a proving ground
The choice of Türkiye was not accidental. Jomaa and Thebian see it as a benchmark.
“We knew that Türkiye has some of the best basketball leagues,” Jomaa said, explaining the logic behind the trip. For her, this is not a basketball vacation. It is a targeted investment before returning to the intensity of the Lebanese Women's Basketball League.
The training in Eskisehir has already challenged their assumptions. Both players have found that parts of the program exposed weaknesses they hadn’t fully recognized—areas of their game that had gone untested at home.
Thebian, competing in Lebanon's Women's Basketball Second League with Tadamon Zouk, has echoed that sentiment. New drills, new approaches, different tactical emphasis. The work in Türkiye has not just sharpened their skills; it has widened their understanding of what a professional routine can look like.
Eyes on a future beyond Lebanon
For now, the goal is clear: go back to Lebanon sharper, stronger, and more complete.
But this trip carries a longer horizon.
Both Jomaa and Thebian have made no secret of their interest in continuing their careers in Türkiye one day. This month in Eskisehir is more than preparation—it is an audition of sorts. A test of whether they can adapt to a higher level of structure and competition, and a glimpse of the standards they will need to meet if they want to return as imports, not visitors.
If they make that jump, the story will trace back to this small gym in central Türkiye, to a coach found on social media, and to a decision that serious players make when they are tired of limits and ready to chase something bigger.
