Shane Larkin and Furkan Korkmaz explained that Turkiye stopped Giannis Antetokounmpo in the EuroBasket semifinal by crowding the paint to force him to kick out and rotating on the perimeter, while also attacking him whenever they had the ball.
The FIBA EuroBasket 2025 gold medal fight is over for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece. They were blown out by Turkiye 94-68 in the semifinals and will now face Finland for the bronze medal on Sunday.
Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis had his worst night of the tournament in the semis, struggling to find rhythm and finishing well below his averages with 12 points (6/13 FG, 0/1 FT) and 12 rebounds.
He also recorded the team's lowest box plus-minus at -30 in 29 minutes. Before this game, his lowest scoring performance in the tournament was 25 points against Spain in the group stage.
"Obviously, if Giannis picks up the ball and nobody comes in to help, nobody's going to be able to stop him around the rim," said Turkiye guard Shane Larkin, a former NBA player with the Mavericks, Knicks, Nets, and Celtics.
"So, whenever he got inside the three-point line and he wasn't taking that hesitation step or hesitation pull-up jump shot, once he picked up the ball, we tried to crowd the paint and make him kick out and then rotate on the perimeter. And the plan worked in our favor," Larkin added.
Another former Turkiye NBA player, Furkan Korkmaz, explained that the strategy also involved attacking Giannis when Turkiye had the ball.
"I mean, Ercan [Osmani] found a lot of open shots, especially at the beginning of the game," the ex-Sixer said. "I think that was a crucial moment of the game. So, we were expecting them to be aggressive, but we set it on really early, and then we got the lead. Our game plan worked."
Alperen Sengun and Ercan Osmani led Turkiye to a dominant semifinal win.
Sengun, the Houston Rockets All-Star, came close to a triple-double with 15 points (5/15 FG), 12 rebounds, and six assists. Osmani had a career night, finishing as the game's top scorer with 28 points (5/7 2PT, 6/8 3PT) and six rebounds.
This victory marks Turkiye's return to the EuroBasket final for the first time since 2001, where they will face world champions Germany.
Turkiye Dominated Greece Like We've Never Seen Before!
Pijus Sapetka
Pijus Sapetka began his basketball media career in 2021, building on years of closely following the sport. Since then, he has reported from a variety of basketball events, including the EuroLeague Playoffs, Lithuanian Cups, LKL Finals, EuroCup games, the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and Goran Dragic's Farewell Game. He holds a degree in Journalism & PR.
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