RIGA (Latvia) - Finland shocked the basketball world by upsetting Serbia 92-86 in the Round of 16 to take down one of the top favorites for the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 title.
The Susijengi have now reached the Quarter-Finals in back-to-back events, and registered their first win over Serbia since 2009. It was also a second successive Round of 16 defeat for Serbia, who had been among the title favorites.
Turning Point
Finland started on fire and went up 11-1 and extended the lead to 16-5 midway through the first quarter. Serbia would tie the game in the second quarter at 28-28 but could not continue the momentum and Finland stayed close, trailing just 48-44 at intermission.
The Finns were still giving Serbia fits and even went into the final 10 mintues up 68-66. Serbia were down 75-71 with 5 minutes to play and answered with six straight points to move back ahead. Elias Valtonen hit three massive baskets for 8 points in and Finland were up 87-81 with 53 seconds to go.
TCL Player of the Game
Elias Valtonen stepped up in the final 2 minutes with 8 points to carry Finland to the win. He finished the game with 13 points but his shots in the dying moments will raise him to legend status back home. Valtonen added 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
Lauri Markkanen had 29 points and 7 rebounds, Mikael Jantunen added 15 points and Miro Little added 13 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.
Nikola Jokic scored 33 points along with 8 rebounds and Nikola Jovic added 20 points in the loss.
Stats Don't Lie
Finland were monsters on the glass, especially after their own misses with 20 offensive rebounds and Serbia converted only 29 percent of their three-pointers.
Bottom Line
Finland snapped an eight-game losing streak to Serbia for a 2-7 all-time mark. They have now locked up back-to-back top-eight performances for the first time in history. And their next matchup will come against the winner between France and Georgia.
Serbia meanwhile once again head home in despair after losing to Italy at the same stage in 2022.
They Said
"Amazing night. What can I say. We just believed in each other today and just made it happen. You have to shoot the ball when you are open. A couple of looks came to me, they left me open, so I just stepped up and shot with confidence." - Elias Valtonen, Finland
"I am a guy who doesn't really think the past, I try to think in the present. They're have been some great moments in the past of course, but I am just the happiest guy in the world because we advanced." - Sasu Salin, Finland
"They were one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the tournament and they had 20 offensive rebounds. We couldn't find solutions for their offensive rebounds. And those offensive rebounds gave all the players more offensive rebounds." - Svetislav Pesic, Serbia
"They played a great game. From the start we didn't come ready. I just wasn't ready from the jump. Their 20 offensive rebounds were just unacceptable. We knew what they were doing, we prepared well, we watched film, still they managed to just better and more physical than us." - Nikola Jovic, Serbia
For more quotes, tune in to the official post-game press conference!
FIBA