Türkiye earns EuroBasket silver after narrow loss to Germany

RIGA

Türkiye’s dream run to a European title fell short on Sept. 14 night in the final in Riga.

NBA star Dennis Schröder came good when it mattered most as Germany edged out Türkiye 88-83 to win the EuroBasket title, two years after lifting the World Cup.

Despite a quiet first half, the 31-year-old Schröder came into his own late on.

With his team trailing by a point as time ticked down, Schroeder scored six unanswered points to give Germany victory in Riga, under the watchful eyes of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

An emotional Schröder, who finished the match with 16 points, slumped to the floor as his teammates mobbed him after the high-quality match ended.

In a clash between two teams that reached the final unbeaten, Türkiye came close to lifting its first major international trophy.

But despite the excellent Alperen Şengün's 28 points and three rebounds, Türkiye could not quite take the final step.

With Türkiye trailing 86-83 and seconds remaining, Şengün, who was selected to the All-Star Five of the tournament, failed with a match-tying three-pointer and Schröder had the last word.

Cedi Osman scored 23 points for Türkiye and Shene Larkin had a 13-point, nine-assist, six-rebound game.

Ergin Ataman, who was voted Best Coach, was visibly sad after the match.

"I'm very sorry,” he told a very short post-game press conference.

“We were leading such an important final until the last two minutes. Losing in the final seconds prevents me from commenting on the future I can't think positively after losing. Today is not a day to talk about positive things."