Türkiye opened their EuroBasket 2025 campaign in dominant fashion, defeating host nation Latvia 93-73 in Riga to take first place in Group A.
The matchup carried echoes of 2017, when Latvia stunned Türkiye in Istanbul, but this time it was the visitors silencing the local crowd. From the opening tip, Türkiye dictated the tempo, with Ercan Osmani throwing down a dunk just seconds into the game.
Latvia stayed within reach in the first half, trailing 47-39 at halftime, but Türkiye’s outside shooting broke the game open in the third quarter. Cedi Osman and Shane Larkin buried multiple threes to stretch the margin beyond 20 points, and the hosts never recovered.
Osman led all scorers with 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while Larkin added 15 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Kenan Sipahi was perfect from the field, finishing with 19 points and five made three-pointers, setting new EuroBasket career highs.
Alperen Sengun provided all-around production with 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists, recording a game-high efficiency rating of 23. Türkiye also dominated the glass, out-rebounding Latvia 40-23, while shooting 60 percent from the field and 60 percent from three.
Latvia struggled to keep pace despite strong efforts from Rihards Lomazs, who scored a team-high 16 points, and Arturs Zagars, who added 11. Kristaps Porzingis was limited to 10 points on 3-of-12 shooting, while Davis Bertans contributed just six points.
Overall, Latvia shot 38.7 percent from the field and turned the ball over 13 times, allowing Türkiye to control both ends of the floor.
With the win, Türkiye moves to 1-0 in Group A, joining Portugal at the top of the standings. Latvia falls to 0-1 and will look to bounce back against Estonia on August 29, while Türkiye faces Czechia the same day.
The victory gives Türkiye an early advantage in the group stage, while Latvia faces pressure to recover in front of their home fans to stay in the knockout race.
