In the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 final on Sunday, Dennis Schroder and Germany defeated Turkey in a heartbreaking 88-83 loss, with Houston Rockets star Alperen Sengun representing his home nation.
The second-place result was Turkey’s best performance in an international tournament since 2001, despite the defeat. Germany’s victory was its first EuroBasket championship since 1993.
Before the match, both teams had an 8-0 record in EuroBasket matches.
Early in, Turkey’s offensive was in sync, and they soon had
a 13-2 lead. Sengun made a hook jumper, guard Shane Larkin contributed five points, while Turkish forward Cedi Osman made two 3-pointers. Germany ended the quarter with a 22-9 run, including a 7-0 run of its own.
Sengun only managed three points on one of three attempts (33.3%) in the first quarter, but he still had an impact by blocking three shots. In the first quarter, German forwards Franz Wagner and Isaac Bonga led the way, putting their team ahead 24–22.
Halfway through the second quarter, with Turkey behind 32-30, Sengun checked back in and made two layups in a row, including one while being fouled. The Turkish big man had an even more impressive sequence later in the quarter, including a jumper, a transition 3-pointer after a Schroder turnover, and a fadeaway. During this period, Sengun shot a perfect 5-of-5 in the frame and scored 10 points in a row for Turkey.
At the half, Sengun scored 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting (66.7%), giving Turkey a 46–40 lead.
Germany began the second half with a 10-3 surge to regain the lead after Sengun was in foul trouble. After checking back in, Sengun hit a jumper right away to give Turkey the lead again. After a few items, Sengun increased his team’s lead by making a layup after a turnover and was fouled on a three-point shot. They had a point advantage going into the last frame. With 11-of-22 shooting (50.0%), including 1-of-3 from 3-point range (33.3%), Sengun finished with a game-high 28 points. He contributed three blocks, three assists, and three rebounds. With 20 points and all four of his three-pointers, Bonga led Germany in scoring, while Franz Wagner finished with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Dennis Schroder finished with 16 points and 12 assists, earning him the title of Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the competition.
Sengun was nominated to the all-tournament team along with four other NBA players: Schroder and Wagner of Germany; Luka Doncic of Slovenia; and Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece. Sengun most likely missed out on MVP honors because of the defeat.
Despite Turkey’s loss, Sengun had a fantastic EuroBasket, making a name for himself as one of the biggest stars in Europe, leading Türkiye to second place with one incredible performance after another. With 21.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game, the big man entered the top 10 in scoring and finished in the top three in rebounding and assisting. We will also remember his triple-double of 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists against Poland in the quarterfinals, even though he pushed Türkiye with 28 points in the Final.
