Alperen Sengun’s Stunning Showdown: How Turkiye Toppled Serbia and Shattered Jokic’s Reign at EuroBasket

What a night on the hardwood—Alperen Sengun stole the spotlight in a heart-stopping duel against Nikola Jokic, handing Serbia their first taste of defeat at EuroBasket with a 95-90 thriller. As Turkiye toughened up and claimed the top spot in Group A undefeated, Serbia finds itself in a precarious second place, itching for redemption. Meanwhile, clutch performances across the board sealed spots in the knockout stage, highlighting the relentless drama that only EuroBasket can deliver. From Portugal’s gritty hold on Estonia after a fiery ejection to Great Britain’s unexpected upset over Montenegro, the race to the final 16 is nothing short of electric. With four nail-biting matchups setting the stage for Saturday and two more Group C spots up for grabs, the intensity is skyrocketing. Can Jokic bounce back against Lauri Markkanen’s Finnish squad? Only time will tell, but one thing’s sure—the thrill of this tournament just keeps ratcheting higher. LEARN MORE

It was Baby Jokic’s day.

In a showdown of All-Star NBA centers, it was Alperen Sengun’s day as he outdueled Nikola Jokic and was the key reason Turkiye handed Serbia its first loss of EuroBasket, 95-90, in what was the highest level of play we have seen so far in the tournament.

With that win, Turkiye remains undefeated and takes Group A, while Serbia falls to 4-1 and second in the group.

Two other teams punched their tickets on Wednesday for the knockout round and the final 16 of EuroBasket.

In a straight-up win-or-go-home game from Group A, Portugal got 15 points from Celtics center Neemias Queta and then were able to hang on after he was ejected in the third quarter to beat Estonia 68-65. In Group B, Montenegro needed only to beat winless Great Britain to advance, but the British earned the win instead, creating a three-way tie at 1-4 for the final knockout round spot. Based on point differential, Sweden – led by Miami’s Pelle Larsson — advances to the next round.

With that, four of the Round of 16 knockout games are set, all to be played on Saturday:

Turkiye vs. Sweden
Serbia vs. Finland
Latvia vs. Lithuania
Portugal vs. Germany

The most star-studded game of those four will see Jokic and a deep Serbian side taking on Utah’s Lauri Markkanen — who has been a force in this tournament — and Finland.

There are two remaining spots in the round of 16 from Group C, and they will be set on Thursday.