Turkey will open their EuroBasket 2025 campaign on August 27 in Riga, facing host nation Latvia in what promises to be a high-stakes start in a highly competitive Group A.
Alongside Turkey and Latvia, the group also features Serbia, Czechia, Estonia, and Portugal, setting the stage for a challenging schedule that includes a pivotal clash with Serbia.
The Turkish squad comes into the tournament well-prepared, having spent a month in intensive training. With an experienced and talented roster, the team is focused on a step-by-step, game-by-game strategy rather than looking too far ahead.
Cedi Osman spoke about the quality of the competition and the challenge of facing the host team:
“This will be one of the best EuroBasket tournaments ever. Every team has come with its best roster. It’s going to be a tough game against Latvia. But I think we have had a very good preparation period, and we are ready for tomorrow’s game and the tournament.”
On the wider challenge posed by Group A opponents, Osman added:
“It’s too early, but Serbia has a great team, a great roster, and they are one of the main candidates. For us, it’s about going game by game. This is definitely the toughest group – you have the home-court team, Serbia, us, the Czech Republic – maybe not with their best roster, but still experienced – and Estonia and Portugal, two teams that are climbing up every year. In the end, we are here to win every game.”
[td_flex_block_1 category_id="" custom_title="MORE FOR YOU" header_color="#e91e63" td_filter_default_txt="" tag_slug="" sort="random_7_day" tdc_css="eyJhbGwiOnsibWFyZ2luLXJpZ2h0IjoiMjUiLCJtYXJnaW4tYm90dG9tIjoiMjUiLCJtYXJnaW4tbGVmdCI6IjI1IiwicGFkZGluZy10b3AiOiIxMSIsInBhZGRpbmctcmlnaHQiOiIyNSIsInBhZGRpbmctYm90dG9tIjoiMTEiLCJwYWRkaW5nLWxlZnQiOiIyNSIsImJhY2tncm91bmQtY29sb3IiOiIjZjNmNGY2IiwiZGlzcGxheSI6IiIsIi0tdGRiLXNjcm9sbC1hbmltIjoibm9uZSJ9LCJwaG9uZSI6eyJtYXJnaW4tcmlnaHQiOiIwIiwibWFyZ2luLWxlZnQiOiIwIiwicGFkZGluZy1yaWdodCI6IjE1IiwicGFkZGluZy1sZWZ0IjoiMTUiLCJkaXNwbGF5IjoiIn0sInBob25lX21heF93aWR0aCI6NzY3fQ==" mx3f_title_font_transform="" mx3f_title_font_weight="700" title_tag="h3" all_modules_space="0" video_popup="" image_size="td_218x150" image_height="65" image_floated="eyJwaG9uZSI6ImZsb2F0X2xlZnQifQ==" autoplay_vid="" show_vid_t="none" modules_category="image" modules_category_margin="eyJhbGwiOiI1cHgiLCJwaG9uZSI6IjVweCJ9" modules_extra_cat="hide" show_author="none" show_date="none" show_com="none" show_review="none" show_excerpt="none" show_audio="none" show_btn="none" f_title_font_size="15" f_title_font_line_height="1.25" f_title_font_weight="600" f_title_font_spacing="-0.2" cat_bg="#e16e00" modules_divider="solid" category_ids="-4430,-5489,-11" show_cat="" modules_on_row="eyJhbGwiOiIzMy4zMzMzMzMzMyUiLCJwaG9uZSI6IjEwMCUifQ==" limit="3" meta_info_align="" modules_divider_color="#333333" image_width="eyJhbGwiOiIxMDAiLCJwaG9uZSI6IjQwIn0=" meta_info_border_color="" modules_border_color="" modules_gap="15" m_padding="eyJwaG9uZSI6IjE1cHggMHB4IDE1cHggMHB4In0=" art_title="eyJwaG9uZSI6IjBweCAwcHggMHB4IDE1cHgifQ==" video_icon="eyJwaG9uZSI6IjIwIn0=" f_cat_font_size="eyJwaG9uZSI6IjgifQ=="]Turkey’s head coach, Ergin Ataman, addressed the challenge of blending top-level talent from both the NBA and EuroLeague into a cohesive unit:
“It’s very easy for me. I have the experience – 25 years coaching big teams in Europe and the EuroLeague. We had a month to prepare, so team chemistry is okay. Of course, game-day performance is very important, and I hope my players will have a good day tomorrow. We didn’t have any difficulties, because when you have players like I have now, everything becomes easier when building team chemistry,” Ataman explained.
With preparation complete and focus firmly on the opening match, Turkey aims to set the tone early in Group A, balancing respect for formidable opponents with confidence in their own strengths.
