By Semih Tuna/ info@eurohoops.net
The senior national team of Turkiye returned home with silver medals on Monday. Following initial disappointment, immediately following a losing effort in a close game versus Germany in the Final of EuroBasket 2025, selector Ergin Ataman was far more positive on a message sent to Turkish fans via a post on Instagram.
“The silver medal after so many years is, of course, a great achievement. The Turkish nation is proud of these guys. However, I am deeply saddened,” wrote the 59-year-old coach, referring to his country also capturing silver in the FIBA World Championship 2010 and EuroBasket 2001.
“History always records the champions, and we narrowly missed out. I apologize to our citizens who believed in us and eagerly awaited the trophy on their screens and in our country,” continued Ataman.
“I warmly believe that these players, who have returned Turkish basketball to the top of Europe, will bring this trophy back to our country in the near future,” he added.
His side went undefeated from the preliminary round with five wins in as many clashes opposite Group A rivals in Riga, including Serbia, to also taking down Sweden, Poland, and Greece in the knockout stage, before falling to Germany in the gold-medal fixture in Xiaomi Arena on Sunday.
“It wasn’t meant to be”
Upon returning to Turkiye, Alperen Sengun and Cedi Osman also talked about the EuroBasket campaign.
“We bonded and became a family, but it wasn’t meant to be,” described the 23-year-old center of the Houston Rockets in the NBA, “We are a younger team with many years ahead of us. We will keep our promise and one day return home with the trophy.”
“We felt your support throughout these 21 days. You were always there for us,” said Osman, “We wish we could have returned with the trophy, but unfortunately, we didn’t, but we did our best. I hope we made you even a little proud.”
The next international challenge for Turkiye sits in Group C of the FIBA World Cup 2027 Qualifiers, with a bid to advance to the final stage starting in late November.