RIGA (Latvia) - No alarms and no surprises. Alperen Sengun and Türkiye eased to a 3-0 record to book their spot in the Round of 16 with two Group A games remaining.
Coach Ergin Ataman got the right intensity from his players from the start, building a 24-point advantage at the half, smooth sailing the rest of the way for a 95-54 win.
Turning Point
Everything was clicking in the right places for Türkiye early in the game, but it was Furkan Korkmaz and Onuralp Bitim providing an incredible spark off the bench in the second quarter which sealed the deal.
Their energy, running and shooting got Türkiye 29 second quarter points, 15 more than Portugal scored in the same stanza, putting this game to bed before Mario Gomes' players could make it interesting.
The only question in the second half was whether Türkiye could reach triple digits for the fourth time in EuroBasket history. They could not.
The only three times they managed to do so were in 2022 (101-87 vs. Bulgaria), in 2015 (111-102 vs. Iceland), and in 1957 (100-54 vs. Scotland).
TCL Player of the Game
Alperen Sengun is on another level right now, and yes, add his name to the MVP discussions because the 23-year-old is the most responsible player for their first 3-0 start to FIBA EuroBasket since 2009.
Sengun scored all 20 points in the first half, while he added 7 rebounds and 5 assists to his stat line, giving him an efficiency rating of 27.
Oh, and he did it in just 21 minutes of work, sitting out the entire fourth quarter.
Stats Don't Lie
Sometimes it's as simple as putting the ball through the net, and Türkiye were far more effective in that than Portugal, shooting 60 percent from the field, compared to Portugal's 31 percent.
Bottom Line
Türkiye are chasing history here, already collecting the same amount of wins as in the entire FIBA EuroBasket 2022. The last time they won more than three EuroBasket games was in 2009, when they went 5-0 in their first five games, before losing the last four to finish eight in Poland.
They take on Estonia next, before the major battle with Serbia on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Portugal go down to 1-2, Neemias Queta's 15 points were not enough on the day.
They Said
For quotes, tune in to the official post-game press conference!
FIBA