Alperen Sengun outduels Nikola Jokic, Turkiye hands Serbia first EuroBasket defeat

It was Baby Jokic’s day.

In a showdown of All-Star NBA centers, it was Alperen Sengun’s day as he outdueled Nikola Jokic and was the key reason Turkiye handed Serbia its first loss of EuroBasket, 95-90, in what was the highest level of play we have seen so far in the tournament.

With that win, Turkiye remains undefeated and takes Group A, while Serbia falls to 4-1 and second in the group.

Two other teams punched their tickets on Wednesday for the knockout round and the final 16 of EuroBasket.

In a straight-up win-or-go-home game from Group A, Portugal got 15 points from Celtics center Neemias Queta and then were able to hang on after he was ejected in the third quarter to beat Estonia 68-65. In Group B, Montenegro needed only to beat winless Great Britain to advance, but the British earned the win instead, creating a three-way tie at 1-4 for the final knockout round spot. Based on point differential, Sweden – led by Miami’s Pelle Larsson — advances to the next round.

With that, four of the Round of 16 knockout games are set, all to be played on Saturday:

Turkiye vs. Sweden
Serbia vs. Finland
Latvia vs. Lithuania
Portugal vs. Germany

The most star-studded game of those four will see Jokic and a deep Serbian side taking on Utah’s Lauri Markkanen — who has been a force in this tournament — and Finland.

There are two remaining spots in the round of 16 from Group C, and they will be set on Thursday.