Lebanese Players Train in Türkiye to Transform Their Careers
In a quiet corner of central Türkiye, far from the bright lights of Istanbul and Izmir, two young Lebanese players are trying to change the course of their careers.
No agents. No federation program. Just a social media search, a leap of faith, and a coach in Eskisehir willing to open his gym.
From online search to six-day grind
Lebanese national team point guard Mariam Jomaa, 22, and 21-year-old center Razan Thebian arrived in Eskisehir with about a month to go before their domestic seasons tip off back home. They did not come for a holiday.
They came for work.
Both had scoured the internet for training options in Türkiye, drawn by the country’s reputation for high-level basketball and deep, competitive leagues. Their search took them through Istanbul and Izmir, then eventually to Eskisehir Kaplanlari Sports Club coach Ali Ihsan Kucuk.
They messaged him directly. No introduction beyond their ambition and a clear request: we want to train, properly.
For Kucuk, it was a first. Players from abroad, not coming to sign a contract or join a camp, but specifically to train with him after researching coaches across Europe and deciding his methods suited what they needed.
They agreed on an intensive schedule: six days a week, sessions running two to two and a half hours. No wasted minutes. No hiding places.
Building players, not just polishing skills
The work in Eskisehir goes beyond a few extra shots and fitness drills. Kucuk has structured the program around athletic performance, shooting, and core fundamentals, then layered in defensive and offensive organization.
The emphasis is clear: sharpen the tools, then teach how and when to use them.
He has spoken of their energy, their determination, and their hunger to learn. That matters. Long sessions only work if the players keep coming back with the same edge, the same questions, the same refusal to coast.
For Jomaa, who runs the point for Beirut First Club in the Lebanese Women's Basketball League, this trip is about returning home as a different player.
She has been open about the purpose: improve now, compete better later. She knew Türkiye’s leagues rank among the strongest in the region, and that if she wanted to stretch her game, this was the place to do it.
Thebian, a center for Tadamon Zouk in Lebanon's Women's Basketball Second League, has echoed that feeling. The drills, the concepts, even parts of the physical work have been new to them both. Some of the details, they admit, exposed weaknesses they had not fully recognized before.
That is the point of leaving your comfort zone. You discover what you didn’t know you lacked.
Eyes on Türkiye’s future, not just its present
The stay in Eskisehir is officially a pre-season tune-up, a way to arrive back in Lebanon sharper, fitter, more complete. But there is more at play.
Both Jomaa and Thebian have made it clear they are looking beyond this month and beyond their current leagues. The idea of continuing their careers in Türkiye is not a vague dream; it is a concrete ambition shaped by this very experience.
They have seen the standard up close. They have felt the intensity of a professional-style program built around them, not a team. They have tested themselves against a different basketball culture.
If this is just the start, the real question is not why they came to Eskisehir.
It is how far this decision will carry them.
