Adem Bona said that during his childhood in Nigeria, basketball wasn't his primary sport. The Philadelphia 76ers forward also revealed that his first pair of basketball shoes was gifted to him by a friend.
Philadelphia 76ers forward Adem Bona helped Turkiye reach the EuroBasket 2025 quarterfinals. The team edged Sweden 85-79, earning its first trip to the last eight since 2009.
Bona finished the game with 4 points (1/1 FG, 2/4 FT), 4 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
Throughout the tournament, he averages 5.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game.
"It's amazing to be able to accomplish such a big thing right now. We have a great team. We came here with a goal, and we just moved one step closer to our goal," Bona said after the game.
However, Bona has come a long way to reach this point. He revealed that growing up in Nigeria, basketball wasn't even his primary sport.
"It was amazing [to play basketball] growing up in a country where football is the most dominant sport," Bona said. "I grew up playing football, and I played basketball only on the weekends, so I had to learn real quick."
Bona moved to Turkiye as a 13-year-old, which was a turning point in his basketball journey.
"I had to pick up the sport really quickly. I only played for a year before I left home to move to Turkey. My first basketball shoes were given to me by a friend.
"I used to just go out there and be by myself, you know. Basketball was just something I really liked because of the pace and the tempo. So it kind of drove me to the game when I started playing for the first time. It was really amazing," he added.
Credit FIBA Media
Given this context, did Bona ever expect to be part of the Turkiye squad that reached the EuroBasket 2025 quarterfinals?
"I mean, that wasn't the first thought when I started playing basketball," Bona admitted. "But as years went on, I started playing and moved to Turkey. That became one of my dreams."
"I wanted to play for the senior national team. I wanted to win medals with them. We won a couple of medals with the youth teams. We won the silver and the bronze.
"I feel like this is the time for us to get the gold. And there's still an even bigger goal, obviously, to make it to the Olympics, which we haven't made in a while. I still have more goals that I want to accomplish," Bona concluded.
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Edvinas Jablonskis
Edvinas Jablonskis began his basketball coverage career in 2017. Starting as a Daily Writer for BasketNews.lt, he steadily climbed the ranks and became a Daily Editor for BasketNews.com in 2021, a position he continues to hold. Over the years, Jablonskis has covered multiple EuroLeague Final Fours and international tournaments, including the FIBA EuroBasket, FIBA Basketball World Cup, and FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
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