By Semih Tuna/ info@eurohoops.net
Riga, Latvia – After helping Turkiye qualify for the Final of EuroBasket 2025, Alperen Sengun opened up on motivation from head coach Ergin Ataman and a team effort to limit the superstar of Greece, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“Just go over there and fight. We have really talented players on our team. Everybody can score. Everybody can defend in our team. We play with our hearts. Everybody loves each other. Everybody plays for each other. We have a great coach, who gives us the confidence before the games,” he noted on preparations and execution in the Semifinals on Friday.
“He said, “We are a better team. I know this’. He said, ‘I’ve been coaching for 30 years. If I say something, that’s true’. So, he gave us the confidence,” he also shared the pregame message by 59-year-old Ataman to the players.
The 23-year-old center of the Houston Rockets in the NBA overcame early shooting struggles opposite the defense of the team coached by Vassilis Spanoulis with a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double plus six assists, two steals, and one block.
“It doesn’t have to be my night every night. It was my teammates’ night,” he described necessary adjustments, “I was just keeping playing aggressively. I know the ball is coming to me, so I can’t do anything. I was just trying to do my best in defense and just finish the easy shots in offense.”
On the defensive end, team efforts kept the Freak to a manageable 12-point, 12-rebound double-double.
“It wasn’t a bad performance from them. We did this,” the Giresun native talked about one-sided traffic in Xiaomi Arena, “They’re a great team. They’ve been playing really well. We just went over there and fought. We played more aggressively. We play harder tonight than them. We made the shots. We were just better.”
“We just put pressure on him,” he replied to a question about the Milwaukee Bucks superstar.
“Giannis is one of the best players in the world, and we just tried to help Ercan [Osmani], and I think we did a good job,” continued Sengun, “He’s an amazing player, but he’s not like a great passer. So, we’re just trying to help and like jump to close the paint.”
Photo Credit: FIBA