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How does it really feel to shock the basketball world and send home the top favorite for the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 crown?

Ask Finland, and the answers range from disbelief to confidence, with a healthy dose of quiet pride.

After knocking out Serbia 92-86 in Riga, the Susijengi mixed wide-eyed wonder at the scale of the upset with an unshakable conviction that they were always capable of it – and a reminder that their journey is far from finished.

The Finns tore up every bracket in Europe with their first victory over Serbia since 2009, one that secured back-to-back Quarter-Finals appearances for the first time in the country’s history.

“This one’s right up there,” said Lauri Markkanen after his commanding 29-point performance. “We had a few difficult days, but this shows the spirit of the team and that we can overcome these.”

Head coach Lassi Tuovi preferred not to compare it with Finland’s past landmark wins, but the pride was written all over his face.

“We are very proud to knock out one of the favorites for the title who play great basketball,” he reflected. “But I don’t think it’s fair to compare this to the others, which is bigger. Still, this is a big one for us and for Finnish basketball.”

Veteran sniper Sasu Salin, who has lived through Finland’s rise from obscurity to EuroBasket regulars, admitted the magnitude of the feat only hit him at the very end.

“I only realized it in the last 5-10 seconds when I said it out loud,” the 34-year-old laughed. “It’s a mental thing that you just have to believe. We were David against Goliath today and we really did a great job.”

But this was no one-man show. Nineteen-year-old Miro Little filled the box score with 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists, while Elias Valtonen – who had averaged just 4.8 points in the group stage – exploded with 13 points and some clutch shots to ice the game.

“It was an amazing night,” Valtonen said after being named TCL Player of the Game. “We just believed in each other. We were relaxed. Being underdogs was good for us.”

Point guard Edon Maxhuni, now a four-year veteran of the Susijengi, summed it up simply: “For me it’s pretty big. Of course we don’t compare other teams. But Serbia is a great team with a lot of potential, with great players in Europe and the NBA. I like this victory to be honest.”

If the rest of Europe gasped at the scoreline, inside Finland’s camp there was no surprise at all.

“People don’t appreciate that being in the top 16 here for a small country, or being in the World Cup, it’s not just a walk in the park,” Tuovi reminded.

“We’ve been working on this. Then you will need to meet and knock out the big countries to achieve the next round. That’s how the road should be. Nothing is ever easy.”

Salin put it even more bluntly: “We expected that but nobody else did.”

And Maxhuni gave the line that perhaps best captured the Susijengi’s mentality: “You gotta dream big and be a little crazy. Nobody, not even Finnish media expected us to win this game. We knew we were going to win this game and that’s how you become a little bit delusional.”

The victory was greeted with jubilation back home in Finland. Ruutu Urheilu splashed the headline “SENSAATIO,” while Kansan Uutiset declared.

“Riga sensation: The Wolfpack has captured Serbia!” The daily Aamulehti marveled, “The Susijengi pulled off an all-time miracle – one man rose from the shadows to become a superhero. A lot can change in one flight from Tampere to Riga,” in reference to Valtonen’s sudden emergence.

And Iltalehti didn’t hold back with: “Finland humiliated the giants.”

Yet in Riga, the players refused to rest on history.

“We’re not done yet. But we’re gonna enjoy this,” said Markkanen. “That is a heck of a team over there that we just beat. So now we move forward.”

Salin, still buzzing, looked ahead as well.

“We’ve always been talking about taking the next steps. Even last EuroBasket we made it to the top eight. We lost to a great team in Spain. And we will face a great team in the top eight again. Who knows, maybe we win that and we go to the medal games. That’s the next idea.”

And Tuovi, choosing his words carefully, closed the night with the kind of message only an underdog could deliver: “We are humble about the next one because we know it’s a tough road. But underdogs should dream big.”

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