The Turkish national team improved to 4-0 in group play during the EuroBasket 2025 tournament on Monday, with productive performances from two NBA big men — Adem Bona and Alperen Sengun.
Bona was effective on both ends of the floor in Monday's 84-64 win over Estonia, recording 12 points (6-7 FG), four rebounds, two steals and two blocks across 17 minutes off the bench. Sengun posted 21 points (8-13 FG, 2-3 3Pt, 3-3 FT), eight rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block in 32 minutes, leading Turkey in the blowout win.
However, they'll face their toughest competition in Group A on Wednesday, going up against Nikola Jokic and the Serbian national team in a marquee matchup between two undefeated squads. While both teams have already clinched spots in the Round of 16, Wednesday's matchup will determine the group winner.
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Adem Bona reflects on EuroBasket experience
Bona discussed his partnership with Sengun following the win over Estonia, reflecting on their time on the floor together over the years, according to Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews.com.
“We’ve been playing together for a long time now,” Bona said. “This is not our first or second tournament, but it's really great to share the floor with him. He's such a great passer, and we just have to keep the defense guessing.”
Bona also talked about the team's strategy for their upcoming matchup against Jokic, praising the three-time NBA MVP's unpredictability and skill.
“I mean, obviously, Jokic is an amazing player,” Bona added. “You can't predict what he's going to do, you know. We just got to go out there and play our best defense, and the rest is going to handle itself.”
Jokic has been impressive over four EuroBasket games, averaging 19.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 66.7 percent from the field across 24.0 minutes per game. It will certainly take a group effort to stop the superstar big man and Serbia from improving to 5-0 in Group A.
Turkey will face Serbia at 1:15 p.m. CT on Wednesday, hoping to stay undefeated in group play against arguably the best player in the world.
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