Houston Rockets big man Alperen Sengun has often been compared to Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokić, and he showed exactly why on Wednesday when he put together a Jokić-esque performance to outduel the three-time NBA MVP and lead Türkiye to a crucial win over Serbia, 95-90, at EuroBasket 2025.
In one of the most anticipated matchups of the tournament’s group stage, both on a team and individual level, Sengun went for 28 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists on 10-for-17 shooting from the field. Jokić finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and four assists on 10-for-16 shooting in a solid showing himself, but he and Serbia were second best on Wednesday.
Sengun controlled the action on the offensive end for Türkiye (who also got 23 points from former New York Knicks and Boston Celtics guard Shane Larkin) and made two game-changing plays in the final minute.
After Jokić had put Serbia up by one with just over a minute to play, Türkiye came down and went to their two-man game with Segnun and Larkin. There wasn’t much happening there, so Larkin eventually gave Sengun the ball on the wing where he was isolated one-on-one with Jokić. Sengun drove left, then spun back to the middle and drew a foul on Jokić. He calmly stepped to the line and sank both free throws to put Türkiye back in front by one.
Serbia still had plenty of time to respond, but on their ensuing possession Segun did a good job initially denying Jokić the ball. He then switched on to Marko Gudurić and stripped the ball from the Serbian guard. Serbia was forced to foul and sent Larkin to the line for two more free throws to put Türkiye up by three. After Jokić missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer the next time Serbia had the ball, Şengün secured the rebound and made two more free throws to ice the game.
For the tournament, Şengün is now averaging 20 points, 8.8 rebounds and 6.5 assists on 65.6% shooting. He ranks ninth in scoring, fourth in rebounding, fourth in assists and third in field goal percentage.
Türkiye and Serbia entered their showdown in Riga, Latvia with perfect 4-0 records and had already clinched a spot in the knockout round. There was still plenty at stake, however, as the winner would claim the top spot in Group B and an easier path to the Final Four.
As a result of their victory, Türkiye will face Sweden (49th in FIBA rankings) in the Round of 16, and will be placed on the opposite side of the bracket as the reigning FIBA World Cup champions Germany. Serbia, on the other hand, will have to play Lauri Markkanen and Finland (20th in FIBA rankings) in the Round of 16 and has been placed on Germany’s side of the bracket. Serbia is also without guard Bogdan Bogdanović, who injured his hamstring last week and will miss the rest of the tournament.
Türkiye and Serbia will both be in action again on Saturday for their Round of 16 contests. Türkiye will tip against Sweden at 5 a.m. ET, while Serbia will tip against Finland at 2:45 p.m. ET.
