RIGA (Latvia) - There was drama, there was tension, and there was a level of basketball which is simply hard to describe by just using words.
Türkiye and Serbia battled in the last game of the Group Phase in Group A, both entering the matchup with perfect 4-0 records.
After 8 ties and 15 lead changes, Türkiye remained on top, collecting a 95-90 win and securing a Round of 16 matchup with Sweden on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Serbia will play against Finland on the same day, in the same phase of competition.
Turning Point
Sehmus Hazer's three-pointer gave Türkiye an 89-88 lead with just under two minutes to play.
Nikola Jokic responded with a tip-in, clearing up Nikola Jovic's miss under the rim, but Alperen Sengun drove straight at him and drew a foul to give Türkiye another lead with 41.5 to play.
He then decided it was time to win the game on the defensive end, stealing the ball out of Marko Guduric's hands and allowing Shane Larkin to ice the game from the free throw line with 15.5 left on the game clock.
When Jokic missed the three-pointer on the other end, Sengun picked up the rebound and sealed the deal.
TCL Player of the Game
Alperen Sengun heard the MVP chants from the small but loud group of Turkish fans among the 6,113 in Arena Riga, and presented with the challenge called Nikola Jokic, he absolutely deserved hearing it.
The big guy was all over the place, drawing "oohs" and "ahhs" from the crowd with each drive, pass or shot, and in the end, celebrated not just winning the matchup, winning the game, but also winning the group.
He finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists on the day, claiming another TCL Player of the Game award.
Stats Don't Lie
Türkiye shot the ball exceptionally well, knocking down 15-of-25 three-pointers through three quarters, and finishing the game shooting 18-of-31 from range.
While Serbia weren't that far off in the shooting department, defeating Ergin Ataman's men on such a hot shooting day is almost impossible.
Bottom Line
We already said Türkiye are going to need support from the other guys, but their Big Three combo of Sengun, Cedi Osman and Shane Larkin is still one of the strongest to ever appear in FIBA EuroBasket games, combining for 67 points on the day.
For the first time since 2009, they have won five straight FIBA EuroBasket games.
Meanwhile, Serbia got 22 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists from Nikola Jokic, but they suffered their first group stage defeat since 2017.
They won the points in the paint 42-26, showing that their strength is still under both rims.
By finishing one and two in Group A, these two teams cannot be matched up again until the Final or the Third-Place Game.
They Said
"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." - Alperen Sengun, Türkiye
"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." - Sengun explaining his 4-of-7 shooting night from deep, after taking just six triples in the first four games
"We're close to all these teams that are medal favorites." - Serbia head coach Svetislav Pesic evaluating his own words, as he had said Serbia would get a better picture where they belong after the matchup with Türkiye
For more quotes, tune in to the official post-game press conference!
FIBA