By Semih Tuna / info@eurohoops.net
Riga, Latvia – Turkey superstar center Alperen Sengun didn’t notice he was close to the triple-double in the EuroBasket quarterfinal win over Poland until his teammates notified him.
“I have really good teammates; they’re the ones who tell me,” Sengun said. “I didn’t start by scoring; they really helped me. I just kept finding my teammates. At some point, they were telling me, ‘Get one more rebound.’ I’m happy that we won the game. The triple-double doesn’t mean much right now.”
Sengun ultimately notched the triple-double to become the sixth player to reach the achievement in EuroBasket history. He combined this superb all-around performance with sending Turkey to the semifinals for the first time in 25 years.
“We haven’t been together for a long time. In such a short time, we’ve built really good chemistry,” Sengun added on his relationship with his teammates. “Everyone knows where I’ll find them, and I know where they’ll go. We know each other very well, and I think that’s the key to our success right now. We love each other, and nobody is selfish. We play for one another. We have two more games ahead. Hopefully, we’ll keep playing the same way and bring the trophy back to our country.”
Turkey held Poland to just 77 points overall. The “12 Giant Men” were particularly strong defensively in the second period, which they dominated 27 – 13.
“Defense is always an important part of the game. The better you defend, the better you can execute on offense. Today, Şehmus started in the starting five and gave us that aggressiveness. He’s one of the best defenders in the tournament. He defended his matchup really well. That was the key for us.”
In the third quarter, Turkey swingman Cedi Osman had to exit the game with an ankle injury. He returned briefly in the fourth period but managed to stay just one minute on the floor.
Turkey coach Ergin Ataman expects Osman to be ready for the semifinal, and so does Sengun.
“I already realized it wasn’t something serious, but in that moment, you can’t control yourself,” Sengun commented. “He jumped from very far away. At the same time, I was mad at him, like, ‘what are you doing, captain?’ But then I understood it wasn’t serious. You know, two years ago I had the same injury myself. He’s in good shape. Hopefully, on Friday, our captain will be ready on the court.”
Photo credit: FIBA