By Semih Tuna/ Stuna@eurohoops.net
Riga, Latvia – It does not get much better than this, beating Serbia in the Round of 16 and making it to the quarterfinals of Eurobasket 2025.
Especially if you are born in 2027, playing in the US for a prep school, and already aiming for the 2027 NBA draft. Miikke Muurinen, already widely known as “Slim Jesus”, has already proved his talents on the junior level, and now he is one of the faces of the senior team.
“I mean, it’s Serbia, and it was a great win; we played well as a team”, he said after the game, adding for the support his team had in the stands: “I love the fans. It was just a great game overall”.
However, his tone was mild, and you wouldn’t understand that Finland had just kicked out the top favorite of the tournament in the first knockout game.
“We’ve got to stay locked in and get ready for the next game, it’s gonna be a hard one”, Muurinen added, talking about the quarterfinals, and didn’t dwell on the three-pointer he made against Nikola Jokic.
MIIKKA MUURINEN WOKE UP AND CHOSE VIOLENCE #Eurobasket pic.twitter.com/FjznscHSY4
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) September 6, 2025
“Now it’s great, but on the court, I had to say locked in”, and added about his teammate Lauri Markkanen: “I would say he is an NBA legend at this point, so it’s, it’s amazing. He’s giving me good advice. I’m learning from him a lot”.
And now, the team dreams big: “Hopefully we’re gonna be locked in, we’re gonna be ready, aiming for Top3”.
If Finland wants to get there, because Top3 translates to a medal, they might have to face Germany again, which beat them in the group stage by 30 points (91-61). And even if they get another shot to play the World Champions, Muurinen’s answer was simple on whether they would do something differently: “No”.
Photo credit: FIBA