By Semih Tuna/ info@eurohoops.net
Riga, Latvia – On the final day of group play in Riga, the much-anticipated duel between Alperen Sengun and Nikola Jokic lived up to the hype, showcasing two of EuroBasket’s brightest stars.
Both big men delivered a spectacular performance, but Sengun proved decisive down the stretch, leading Turkey to a 95-90 victory over the three-time NBA MVP and his Serbian team.
With this win, Turkey finished the group stage undefeated (5–0) and secured the top seed in Group A. They will face Sweden in the Round of 16, while Serbia, now 4–1, will meet Finland.
Houston Rockets‘ rising star, Sengun, led Ergin Ataman’s team with 28 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists for a PIR of 37, while on the other side, Jokic had 22 points, nine rebounds, and four assists for a PIR of 31.
Shane Larkin also had a great game for the winning side, scoring 23 points with nine assists in over 39 minutes on the court. Cedi Osman added 16 points, while Ercan Osmani contributed 10. It’s worth noting that Turkey shot an impressive 18-for-31 from beyond the arc.
“I will not say this, because we beat Serbia, I said in our press conference before we arrived in Riga, this team had great potential, we work very well, all players are motivated, and our goal is to take a medal, step by step”, said Turkish coach Ergin Ataman.
As for Serbia, which saw Aleksa Avramović suffer an injury in the first half and miss the second, while Tristan Vukčević sat out the match entirely, Marko Gudurić followed Jokić with 12 points. Filip Petrušev scored 11, while Nikola Jović and Stefan Jović added 10 points each.