Having been unsuccessful last year in the Euroleague, Turkish League and President's Cup winners Efes Pilsen of Istanbul are keen to push for a Final Four finish this coming season.

After signing Ergin Ataman, one of the finest coaches in Turkey and Europe, to join players Bootsy Thornton, Charles Smith, Michallis Kakiouzis, Mario Kasun, Milos Vujonic and Preston Shumpert, Efes were  expecting to create a dream team with Turkish international players Kaya Peker, Ender Arslan, Kerem Gönlüm and Engin Atsür.

However, they stayed behind CSKA, Real Madrid, Partizan and Armani in Euroleague Group D and had to say goodbye to their dreams at an early stage.

After this, Efes had just one goal -  to win the BEKO Basketball League Championship play-offs. They finished top of the league and easily beat Darussafaka in the quarter-finals.

In the semi-finals Efes also swept aside Galatasaray, only to face Fenerbahce Ülker, the team coached by Bogdan Tanjevic, who also coaches Turkey, the 2010 World Basketball Championship hosts.

Home team advantage was on the side of  Efes because they finished the regular season top. However, Fenerbahce Ulker beat them twice at home in the best-of-seven final. This was a shock for Efes and their coach, and they were criticised by the media.

Fenerbahce were expected to win as easily as they had in the previous two years, but Ataman had other ideas. "If they can do this then we can also beat them at their home. My players have the potential," he said.

And the players showed that they really do have it. Efes went on to win the series 4-2, an unforgettable comeback and a real shock for Fenerbahce.

But Efes Pilsen are not satisfied with the Turkish title and a few days later, they announced that Europe's top scorer Igor Rakocevic would be joining the squad.

They are also trying to sign Ersan İlyasova, one of the best players of his generation. Olympiakos are also interested in the player, but Ersan says he wants to return to his former NBA team, Milwaukee Bucks.