TBF International Under-16 Tournament

The TBF International Under-16 Tournament, or TBF Under-16 Basketball World Cup, was an international boys' youth age basketball tournament that was contested between the best Under-16 age national teams in the world. The tournament took place every year in Turkey, and was organized by the Turkish Basketball Federation. Since FIBA does not currently organize an under-16 age boys' world championship, this tournament served as the de facto boys' official Under-16 World Cup. It was considered by followers of European basketball to be one of the most prestigious international tournaments in the boys' youth categories.

History

The first TBF International Under-16 Tournament took place in Sakarya, Turkey, in 1994. In the first tournament, which was won by Italy, it was an Under-18 competition. Since then until its discontinuation in 2020, the tournament was an Under-16 competition. The list of some of the players that have played at the tournament, and have then gone on to have successful pro careers, includes players like: Hedo Türkoğlu, Kerem Tunçeri, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Ömer Aşık, Ersan İlyasova, and Peja Stojaković.