By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
Riga, Latvia – Türkiye is back in the EuroBasket Semi-Finals for the first time since 2001, and they did it by convincingly beating Poland thanks to a superstar effort provided by Alperen Sengun.
Houston Rockets’ phenomenon dropped the youngest ever triple-double in the history of FIBA EuroBasket, finishing with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists.
After the game, Shane Larkin praised his teammate. “I think Alperen’s taking that next step. I think he’s taking on the expectations and the responsibilities,” he opened.
“He’s very solidly placed himself as one of the best players in the world, Top 15, Top 20, whatever you want to call it, Top 10. And now it’s just about going out there every single night and being that consistent presence,” Shane Larkin continued on Türkiye’s stellar player.
“We’ve played seven games and he’s been there every single game with rebounding, scoring, assists, defense, and big stops. So I think he’s put himself in that upper echelon of players.”
“We’re just going to continue to support him and continue to give him the confidence; hopefully, he can continue to carry us, and we can do some great things,” he continued, eyeing the Semi-Finals.
Asked if everybody could call him Turkish White Chocolate, he agreed. “I guess with the passing ability and with that vision, you can say it for sure. But completely different sizes and players,” he answered.
Türkiye will now face the winner of the following Quarter-Finals, scheduled at 20:00 CET between Greece and Lithuania in Riga’s Xiaomi Arena.
Having played several crucial games in EuroLeague Final Fours with Anadolu Efes, Shane Larkin is bringing over that amount of confidence and experience for this kind of game.
“I’m one of the oldest guys on the team, and I’ve played in a lot of different high-pressure situations in my career. In these situations, it’s always great to have somebody who’s been in that situation.”
“I’m just gonna try to preach to the younger guys and explain to them that this moment is a blessing. Don’t let the moment be too big because it’s just like playing basketball anywhere else,” he added.
“Obviously there’s gonna be a crowd, there’s gonna be a lot of expectations, there’s gonna be a lot of media, there’s gonna be a lot of hoopla going around, but at the end of the day, once you get inside those lines, it’s the same game we’ve been playing since we were kids,” Larkin said.
“Just go out there and enjoy it, have fun. Play hard, play aggressive, and you know, as long as you leave everything out there, you’ll have no regrets, and hopefully we can do that and win the game.”
Finally, he also shared how it was to play with Jordan Loyd in FIBA’s landscape. “It was fun. I think where he’s been playing the last few years, maybe he hasn’t been the number one option on his team, and I think for Poland he was granted that responsibility,” he said.
“He shoots 15-16 shots a game, he’s the number one option. He’s taken contested jump shots in some of the ways that he’s played before, whether that’s been in Zvezda or Saint Petersburg. I think he enjoyed it; he obviously played amazingly. It was very fun to play against him in this atmosphere,” he concluded.
PHOTO CREDIT: FIBA