As the host country, Turkey, led by coach Bogdan Tanjević, automatically qualified for the 2010 FIBA World Cup. Turkey topped their group, winning all of their games against the Ivory Coast, Russia, Greece, Puerto Rico and China. In the knockout stages Turkey managed to defeat France, Slovenia and Serbia in a thrilling semi-final match which Turkey won 83–82. The national team enjoyed their greatest success to date on the international stage going undefeated in group play and progressing to the final, where they eventually lost to the United States to come away with the silver medal. Each player was awarded a prize of 1,500,000 TL (approximately $1,000,000 in September 2010) from the Turkish government for being the runner-up in the competition.