Franz Wagner and Isaac Bonga did the heavy lifting, Dennis Schroder had a captain’s sense of timing and Germany became EuroBasket 2025 champions. A heroic display by Alperen Sengun and Türkiye wasn’t enough in a game that will go down as one of the great continental deciders of all-time. Emmet Ryan reports on a classic in Riga.
Franz Wagner and Isaac Bonga countered the dual-threat of Alperen Sengun and Cedi Osman. Come the denouement, it was Dennis Schroder’s time. The man who has been there through Deutschland’s darkest days in basketball, delivered their second ever EuroBasket title.
Germany can take a punch
Türkiye started out like a house of fire. Cedi Osman and Shane Larkin made it rain early. The game was neutral in name only as Türkiye fans held the vast majority of the seats in the Xiaomi Arena. Spurred on by the support, Türkiye ran into an early 13-2 lead.
Franz Wagner was a force of calm for his side. He quickly led a 16-3 run in response as Germany managed to get in front. Germany’s game is built around the fast break, Franz has said openly that this is a team that wants to avoid needing half court offensive situations. Having been frustrated early, this unit learned how to play half-court ball. Big plays from Tristan da Silva in that aspect helped bring their fast break back into the game.
It forced some notable adjustments from Ergin Ataman. The introduction of Adem Bona for Ercan Osmani early wasn’t a surprise. Bringing in Omer Yurtseven, who has struggled to crack the rotation came in as well. The latter was to essentially free up space for Bona to bring the same energy he has on D to the offensive paint.
Sengun stands out on D and then…
In a similar manner to the semi-final, Alperen Sengun wasn’t at the heart of Türkiye’s early scoring. Instead he took on a big defensive job, primarily containing Franz Wagner but picking up other assignments as well. He recorded a personal high in blocks at the tournament as Türkiye sought to tighten things up.
With Bona providing fine support, Sengun was able to begin to work his scoring into the game. The nature of his defensive assignment meant that Sengun wasn’t really grabbing boards at anywhere near his normal rate,
With Germany having more success forcing Türkiye into the half court, Sengun’s ability to create was also hampered. Daniel Theis had taken that main role, with Isaac Bonga heavily occupied with Adem Bona. By the half, Sengun was cooking inside and out.
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Where was Dennis?
Germany’s captain and leader was not the big impact player his team needed in the first half. While Franz Wagner was doing everything, the only aspect that was going well for Dennis Schroder was as a creator.
Schroder had 5 assists in the first half but also had 3 turnovers and only managed a single shot from the field in the game’s first 20 minutes. Having delivered his dream game against Finland, Dennis was not having a great night.
He managed to force himself into the game more offensively at the start of the second half. With Alperen Sengun sitting due to being on 3 fouls, Türkiye had their least athletic line-up of the game so far out to start. That enabled Schroder to force his way into the game more and, crucially, gave Isaac Bonga a lot more room to operate in the corner.
Alperen Sengun’s heroics weren’t enough as Germany held off a fine challenge to win an all-time classic EuroBasket final. (Credit FIBA)
Covering the gaps
Alperen Sengun got the message. He landed one from deep as soon as he was reintroduced. Germany had started the third taking advantage of the slower line-up for Türkiye and started on a 10-3 run. Sengun’s return settled things somewhat.
The move however meant that Ergin Ataman was shortening his rotation even more. Ercan Osmani, the hero against Greece, was being exposed defensively whenever he was on the floor. It was a matter of match-ups and that meant Adem Bona had to play his heaviest minutes of the competition.
The logical pressure point moved to Sehmus Hazer, who had menaced Dennis Schroder in the first half but was going to have to deliver even more now. Türkiye were given a bit of a breather as Germany had opted to put Daniel Theis on Sengun, and he wasn’t faring well. A switch to Bonga or Franz Wagner looked necessary.
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Cedi keeps delivering
While Alperen Sengun was delivering enormously for Türkiye, Cedi Osman was proving to be a constant threat on the elbow. His three to force a German time out with 8.05 to play put Türkiye up by 6 and brought him to 23 on the night. For Osman, who came home from the NBA to get prime years in Europe, the value of this moment wasn’t lost on him.
He was there through the rough times, when making the round of 16 was all Türkiye could realistically aim for. Along with Furkan Kormaz and Kenan Sipahi, both of whom came off the bench in this, he was part of the golden generation that was expected to deliver.
Reaching this final meant they had at least done part of that, guaranteeing Türkiye a second EuroBasket medal in their history. Now he was playing a key role in deciding if Ergin Ataman’s charges could actually win the whole thing.
Not that things were getting easy. Even while Franz Wagner sat, Isaac Bonga continued to keep Germany in touch. If Türkiye were going to win a first major honour, it was going to the wire.
A time to trust yourself
Ercan Osmani had been having a rough night defensively. As the game entered its final minutes, it would have been easy to count him out. Yet Ergin Ataman kept Adem Bona sitting and trusted Osmani to find a way.
While Alperen Sengun missed two efforts to make it a three possession game, as well as picking up his fourth, Osmani went back to basics defensively. He trusted his timing over his body. Osmani knew it was more important to be in the right spot on time than to force his way there.
For the few minutes that Ataman needed, it was enough. With 3.48 to play, and Türkiye up by 2, Bona came back in. The drive for home was about to begin in Riga. Not before Isaac Bonga, once again, stepped up from deep to inch Germany in front. Now there was a man whose sense of timing had been exceptional all evening.
3 minutes and 35 seconds
Dennis Schroder, anonymous for so long in this game, had worked his way back in. The turnovers kept coming but he bullied his way into creating where he could. As the clock wore down, he needed options.
Kenan Sipahi from deep and Türkiye led again, only for Isaac Bonga to drive and dunk in response. With 2.02 Ataman sat Alperen Sengun. He didn’t want to risk him picking up his fifth. The move lasted all of 13 seconds as Daniel Theis nailed from deep. Germany up by the minimum.
Larkin and Schroder exchanged scores. With the game on the line, we waited for Sengun or Franz Wagner to device it. Bonga made the big offensive board and Dennis worked the clock before delivering the dagger. A long 2 to put Germany up 3.
Sengun shoots over Theis. The 3 is off. Dennis Schroder, having been rattled but never beaten, closed the deal from the line. Germany were champions of EuroBasket.
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