Turkey Advances to EuroBasket Final After 24 Years
RIGA, Latvia – The Turkish national team is preparing to play in the EuroBasket final for the first time in 24 years. They will face the world champion, Germany, in the fight for the gold medal. The title match will take place on Sunday in Riga. Turkey secured its place in the final by defeating Greece with a score of 94-68 on Friday, in the second semi-final.Previously, Germany secured their spot in the final after defeating Finland by 98-86.
Greece and Finland will compete for the bronze medal on Sunday. Regardless of the outcome, this will be Turkey’s second EuroBasket medal, having won silver in 2001, when they hosted the tournament. Germany will be looking for their fourth medal in the tournament, after winning gold in 1993, silver in 2005 and bronze in the most recent EuroBasket, in 2022.Before the start of the EuroBasket, Germany and Turkey faced each other in a friendly match at the DBB Supercup, where Germany won with a score of 73-71 on August 15th.
In the EuroBasket, both teams arrive undefeated to the final, with a record of 8-0. The winner will become the second undefeated champion in the last nine editions of the tournament, joining Slovenia, who achieved the feat in 2017. Turkey consolidated its dominance with a 12-0 run in just 2:19 minutes of the second quarter, reaching a 45-24 lead at the end of that period. The score at halftime was 49-31, with turnovers being a key factor. Greece committed 12 turnovers in the first 20 minutes, which translated into 17 points for Turkey; while Turkey only had two turnovers in the first half, which resulted in two points for Greece. Ercan Osmani led the Turkish attack with 28 points, followed by Cedi Osman with 17 points, thus contributing to Turkey’s qualification for the final. Alperen Sengun finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists, while Shane Larkin contributed 14 points and five assists for Turkey. Kostas Sloukas was Greece’s top scorer with 15 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in 30 minutes of play. Dennis Schroder scored 26 points and provided 12 assists, leading Germany in their victory against Finland. Schroder made four three-pointers and had a perfect performance from the free-throw line, going 10-for-10. Franz Wagner added 22 points, including two consecutive three-pointers that helped Germany reach its biggest lead in the second quarter, with a score of 49-30. Olivier Nkamhoua was Finland’s top scorer with 22 points. Lauri Markkanen scored 16 points on 6-of-17 shooting for Finland, which stayed close in the third quarter but saw Germany pull away on the scoreboard.
