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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Turkey beats host Latvia in EuroBasket opener; Portugal gets 1st win in 18 years

Turkey beats host Latvia in EuroBasket opener; Portugal gets 1st win in 18 years

Published Aug 28, 2025 09:35 am

At A Glance

  • Miikka Muurinen hit back-to-back baskets from the lane with five minutes left to give the Finns the lead for good in Tampere, Finland. Ludvig Hakanson led Sweden with 28 points.
Finland's Miro Little, left, and Sweden's Mattias Markusson during the basketball FIBA EuroBasket 2025 group B match between Sweden and Finland in Tampere, Finland, Wednesday Aug. 27, 2025. (Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva via AP)
Finland's Miro Little, left, and Sweden's Mattias Markusson during the basketball FIBA EuroBasket 2025 group B match between Sweden and Finland in Tampere, Finland, Wednesday Aug. 27, 2025. (Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva via AP)
RIGA, Latvia (AP) — Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen scored 28 points to lead Finland to a 93-90 victory over Sweden on the opening day of the EuroBasket tournament Wednesday, Aug. 27.
Miikka Muurinen hit back-to-back baskets from the lane with five minutes left to give the Finns the lead for good in Tampere, Finland. Ludvig Hakanson led Sweden with 28 points.
Cedi Osman scored 20 points as Turkey upset host nation Latvia 93-73 at a sold-out Xiaomi Arena.
Turkey seized the initiative from the start as Ercan Osmani converted the tip-off into a dunk within seconds. After that, the only time Latvia led was when it had a one-point advantage for 19 seconds in the first quarter.
Kenan Sipahi added 19 points for Turkey and Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun chipped in with 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Latvia next faces Estonia on Friday, when Turkey plays the Czech Republic.
Earlier in the group, Neemias Queta led Portugal to its first EuroBasket win in 18 years, 62-50 over the Czechs.
The Boston Celtics center finished with 23 points, 18 rebounds, four blocks and two steals, becoming the first player to have at least 20 points and 15 rebounds in their EuroBasket debut since FIBA began tracking rebounding numbers in 1995.
Portugal’s previous win in the tournament was a 94-85 victory over Israel in 2007.
Also in Group A in Riga, Serbia beat Estonia 98-64 behind 18 points from Nikola Jovic and 11 points and 10 rebounds from three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. The tournament favorite with five active NBA players and seven others who once played in the league, Serbia scored the first nine points of the game and followed it up with a 17-3 run to open a double-digit lead it never relinquished.
In other Group B action in Tampere, Germany took command in the second half to beat Montenegro 106-76.
Germany only led 46-43 at the break before the reigning World Cup champion went on a 33-12 run in the third quarter, sparked by four 3-pointers from Andreas Obst.
Sacramento Kings guard Dennis Schroder, who was the MVP at the World Cup, had 21 points, with Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner adding 22 points and eight rebounds on his 24th birthday.
Germany next plays Sweden while Montenegro takes on Lithuania, which beat Britain 94-70 in the first game of the tournament.
Denver Nuggets center Jonas Valanciunas led the way with 18 points and nine rebounds for Lithuania, whose coach Rimas Kurtinaitis said his players looked nervous at times as they missed a number of 3-pointers and free throws.
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