Alperen Sengun’s triple double leads Türkiye past Poland
It took one angry dunk from Alperen Sengun for Türkiye to finally make a statement in Riga. Ergin Ataman’s side are off to the medal rounds of EuroBasket 2025 after dispatching Poland.
After 40 forgettable minutes against Sweden on Saturday, a more energised performance was expected of Türkiye against Poland. Through more than a quarter, it didn’t happen. Then their superstar, Alperen Sengun, reminded everyone why they are favourites to make the final of EuroBasket 2025.
This is what venting looks like
With 6.06 left in the second quarter, Alperen Sengun stole the ball from Andrzej Pluta. Three seconds later he roared as he dunked over Jordan Loyd. It had taken that long for the Houston Rockets superstar to get his first points against Poland.
Türkiye had been utterly frustrated by Poland through the first quarter and a half of play. A lot of this was down to Aleksander Balcerowski doing an excellent job restricting Sengun. A greater part was the inability of his Sengun’s teammates finding ways to create around him. Sengun had been Türkiye’s primary creator up to this point.
Sengun racked up another 5 points in a hurry as a 3 minute Türkiye spell finally showed the energy that had been lacking since they got to Riga. For a side that’s favoured to make the final of EuroBasket 2025, Ergin Ataman’s side had been worryingly lacking in energy since the elimination games started.
And just like that…
It really only took that one outburst by Alperun Sengun to break the game open. Türkiye, who hadn’t been to the semi-finals since 2001 and were only playing their first quarter final since 2009, were in full control.
For all the grit and grind that Poland brought, when Türkiye turn on the energy there are few teams in EuroBasket 2025 who can live with them. The talent of Sengun alone is a challenge but then there’s Shane Larkin and Cedi Osman to deal with along with Adem Bona. With Ergin Ataman running this roster pretty deep, he’s able to play a physically imposing style of basketball.
The nickname for the Türkiye national team is the 12 Dev Adam, which means 12 Giant Men. Size is something they have plenty of but it’s the athleticism of this roster that differs it from past Türkiye sides. They have the quality to add to it and, of course, one absolute superstar to build around.
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The full range on display
Alperen Sengun hit a personal high in assists at EuroBasket in the third quarter. He’d need to wait until the fourth to finally get his triple double. Given the extraordinary rarity of that achievement, that he was only 1 rebound short later in the third spoke volumes about his contribution in this game.
Sengun’s final statline does a fine job telling the story but even that stops somewhat short. From switching between 4 and 5, to being the primary ball handler or creating on fast breaks, we saw how well Türkiye make use of their superstar.
It took a while, well 5 quarters and 4 minutes, but we finally saw someone other than Cedi Osman show up to offer real help in Riga. Sehmus Hazer and Furkan Korkmaz were much better at working around Sengun to give Türkiye a much more varied offensive game.
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Now the lights get brighter
In 26 appearances at EuroBasket, Türkiye have 1 medal to their credit. That came in 2001, when they hosted and the 12 Dev Adam name was born. Their only other major medal came in 2010. That was silver in the FIBA World Cup which, again, they hosted.
Here in Riga, at EuroBasket 2025, they have a chance to give Türkiye a new reputation. With Alperen Sengun leading the way, the old grit and grind has been replaced with an exciting, athletic, and effective game.
The only side that looks at their level right now, Germany, hasn’t played a game that was tight at the death. Türkiye have been tested and likely will be again in the semi-finals. This is a side with steel that is built to win medals. If Ergin Ataman’s men can win gold, they will go down as legends by the Bosphorous.
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