By Semih Tuna/ STuna@eurohoops.net
Riga, Latvia – Serbia lost to Turkey in the final game of the 2025 EuroBasket group stage, suffering their first defeat and finishing second in Group A.
Coach Svetislav Pesic had only 10 players available before the start of the match, due to captain Bogdan Bogdanovic leaving the EuroBasket because of injury, and Tristan Vukcevic sitting out the match due to injury.
Furthermore, Aleksa Avramovic suffered an injury in the second quarter and did not return to the court in the second half of the match against Turkey.
Coach Svetislav Pesic commented on Vukcevic and Avramovic at the postgame press conference:
“Vukcevic couldn’t be on the roster in this situation, when the game is played with so much energy – everyone is really important. He got a minor injury, nothing serious. He’ll be ready in 2–3 days. And the one who affected our game the most was Avramovic. His heel was painful; he couldn’t continue. That disrupted us, but it’s okay. We have time until Saturday. Two days of rest, physical recovery, working on game details, improving, and waiting for the Finns,” Pesic said.
He also explained Avramovic’s status before the Round of 16 match against Finland, scheduled for Saturday at 20:45 CET:
“He tried some therapy at halftime. We had planned for him to start, but he couldn’t. We’ll see in the next few days. I really don’t know,” Svetislav Pesic concluded.