Nikola Jokic-led Serbia loses to Türkiye

Sep 3, 2025 10:43 PM

Türkiye edged Serbia 95-90 in thrilling Group A showdown

The Group A finale at EuroBasket saw Türkiye and Serbia, both unbeaten at 4-0, face off in a game full of drama, tension, and high-level basketball.

After 8 ties and 15 lead changes, Türkiye emerged victorious, 95-90, earning a Round of 16 matchup with Sweden on Saturday, while Serbia will face Finland.

Turning Point

Sehmus Hazer’s three-pointer gave Türkiye an 89-88 lead with under two minutes remaining.

Nikola Jokic responded with a tip-in, but Alperen Sengun attacked the rim, drew a foul to regain the lead with 41.5 seconds left, then made a key defensive play, stealing the ball from Marko Guduric to set up Shane Larkin’s free throws that iced the game.

TCL Player of the Game

Alperen Sengun dominated throughout, thrilling the Turkish fans and earning the TCL Player of the Game award. He finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists.

Sengun reflected, “Jokic is one of the best players in the world. Rather, he’s the best, as of recently. To play and get this win against him was really important for us. As for me, I also had the extra motivation for this game. So we’re happy. And I’m happy I’ve played well and we won.”

Stats Don’t Lie

Türkiye shot 18-of-31 from three-point range, dominating a hot-shooting Serbia team. The Big Three of Sengun, Cedi Osman, and Shane Larkin combined for 67 points.

Despite Nikola Jokic’s 22 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists, Serbia’s first group-stage loss since 2017 showed that Türkiye’s firepower was too much to overcome.

They Said

Sengun on his shooting: “Well, they just left me open. So (I could shoot) confidently. You know… We had to make the open shots, too, otherwise we wouldn’t have had any chances against this Serbia team. So they left me open and I shot with confidence.”

Serbia head coach Svetislav Pesic said, “We’re close to all these teams that are medal favorites,” noting that the matchup against Türkiye helped gauge where his team stands.

Bottom Line

For the first time since 2009, Türkiye has won five consecutive EuroBasket games. By finishing first and second in Group A, Türkiye and Serbia cannot meet again until the Final or Third-Place Game.