Coming out of a tough loss in the gold-medal game of EuroBasket 2025, Ergin Ataman was hesitant to find any silver lining in Turkiye’s second-ever EuroBasket silver medal.
“All these three weeks in Riga, through this EuroBasket, I talked too much in the press conference every time. Now, there are no words to say, because we are very upset to lose a game that we controlled, it was in our hands,” said the 59-year-old Turkish coach during the postgame press conference, reflecting on Germany’s late victory over his team at Xiaomi Arena.
Cedi Osman echoed the disappointment from the players’ perspective, stating, “I just can say it was a good game. It could have gone both ways. I think we were controlling the game, but I think we lost control in the last couple of minutes. Overall, I am proud of the team, coaches, and everything. I hope everybody enjoyed watching us. We’re upset.”
For Ataman, there was no immediate room for positives.
“When I lose, I never take any positives. We may look at some positive things tomorrow, or the next days,” he said, adding firmly, “Nothing positive for me now.”
The gold-medal game had 11 lead changes, with multiple swings keeping fans on edge. In the final moments, a clutch sequence by Dennis Schroder put Germany ahead by three points with just 18 seconds remaining.
Alperen Sengun then missed a chance to tie the game with a three-pointer, effectively sealing Turkiye’s fate.
“I don’t like to make any comments on the player’s decision. The game is over,” Ataman replied when asked about the 23-year-old center’s missed attempt to equalize.
🇹🇷 Ergin Ataman reacts to Turkiye’s losing effort versus Germany in the gold-medal game #EuroBasket
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) September 14, 2025
🗣️ “I talked too much in the press conference every time. Now, there are no words to say, because we are very upset to lose a game that we controlled”https://t.co/m53APi8l4I
