Rumors

The first day of the Round of 16 at FIBA EuroBasket 2025 ended with the tournament's biggest surprise. Heavy favorites Serbia, led by three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, were upset by Finland 92-86 and eliminated. For the second EuroBasket in a row, Serbia's campaign ended in the Round of 16. In 2022, they were knocked out by Italy, 94–86. This means Jokic remains without a EuroBasket medal.

BasketNews

Lauri Markkanen scored 29 points (8/24 FG) to take down Jokic and Serbia, but the hero of the day could also be called Elias Valtonen with eight straight clutch points at the end of the fourth quarter. Nikola Jokic had 33 points (9/13 FG) and eight rebounds for Serbia, but that was not enough. He and Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic combined for 53 out of Serbia's 86 points in the game.

BasketNews

In the biggest Eurobasket upset so far, the Olympic bronze medalist Serbia is out of the tournament after losing to Finland, and coach Svetislav Pesic explained why a key point, which was among the biggest concerns of the scouting, decided the outcome. As he said in the press conference: “Congratulations to Finland. We knew before the game how the Finnish team is playing: energy, transition, shooting, and offensive rebounds”.

EuroHoops.net

The last two words are the most important, as Pesic elaborated: “They are the best team in offensive rebounds per tournament, 16 per game, and tonight they got 20. So it’s an opponent that we could not underestimate. We didn’t find a solution for the offensive rebounds, so we lost the game despite Finland shooting 41% and they ended up having 92 points”. Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic echoed his coach: “We didn’t come to the game ready, it starts from me as the youngest one. I was not ready from the jump. As the coach said, they got 20 offensive rebounds, which is unacceptable. We were prepared well, we watched the film, but they were more physical than us. They simply had more shots. They are more aggressive, more humble, so what else can I say?”.

EuroHoops.net

EuroHoops: End of the tournament for Nikola Jokic and Serbia #Eurobasket

x.com

EuroHoops: 🇷🇸😲 Serbia has been eliminated in back-to-back #EuroBasket tournaments in the Round of 16, scoring exactly 86 points each time!

x.com

Anthony Chiang: Heat's Nikola Jovic totals 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting from field and 2-of-3 shooting on threes and 1 rebound in Serbia's 95-90 EuroBasket loss to Turkey today. Serbia, considered by many to be the favorite to win the tournament, finishes the group stage with a 4-1 record.

x.com

On the final day of group play in Riga, the much-anticipated duel between Alperen Sengun and Nikola Jokic lived up to the hype, showcasing two of EuroBasket’s brightest stars. Both big men delivered a spectacular performance, but Sengun proved decisive down the stretch, leading Turkey to a 95-90 victory over the three-time NBA MVP and his Serbian team.

EuroHoops.net

Houston Rockets‘ rising star, Sengun, led Ergin Ataman’s team with 28 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists for a PIR of 37, while on the other side, Jokic had 22 points, nine rebounds, and four assists for a PIR of 31. Shane Larkin also had a great game for the winning side, scoring 23 points with nine assists in over 39 minutes on the court. Cedi Osman added 16 points, while Ercan Osmani contributed 10. It’s worth noting that Turkey shot an impressive 18-for-31 from beyond the arc.

EuroHoops.net

However, when coach Svetislav Pesic was asked if the absence of Bogdanovic might alter the expectations of the team, he just smiled. The Serbs are still aiming for gold, and Pesic made it quite clear: “Well, how could we possibly change our ambitions? We would be shot for that. We know where we come from. Ambitions don’t change with or without Bogdanović. Right now, we’re only focused on preparing for the game against Turkey. It’s not great, but what can we do? Big expectations are not always good. I’m not saying this to you, but to my players through this press conference. Even realistic goals are hard to achieve. The best way is not to have huge expectations. And we don’t have them.”

EuroHoops.net

Unbeaten Serbia got the 82-60 win over winless Czech Republic with Aleksa Avramovic having 14 points, Filip Petrusev 13 points, and Nikola Milutinov adding 12, while Nikola Jokic (6 p., 7 r., 4 as.) getting some rest. Vasa Micic got an injury scare, but coach Svetislav Pesic and Micic himself, speaking to Serbian television, confirmed that he is ready to go, so the issue at the press conference was the upcoming game against Turkey.

EuroHoops.net

Ira Winderman: Nikola Jovic, in a game he suffered what appeared to be a minor hand injury, closed with 10 points on 4 of 7 in Serbia 82-60 victory over Czechia. Also six rebounds in his 22:48. Serbia already had clinched advancing to knockout round.

x.com

Support for the Serbian captain is coming from all sides, and now from Novak Djokovic, the greatest tennis player of all time. Djokovic had problems with the same injury, so in a conversation with Bogdanovic, the man with whom he celebrated great successes, he had something to say besides just support. "The moment I read that he was injured, I contacted him immediately. He told me that he would be fine and that it was nothing serious, but I saw that unfortunately he would not play," Djokovic told Serbian reporters at the US Open. "I called him again and he told me that unfortunately it was a more serious injury. I gave him some suggestions, ways he might be able to speed up his recovery. But it doesn't seem to be helping this time."

Meridian Sports

Ira Winderman: Heat's Simone Fontecchio with a breakout performance for Italy in Sunday's 96-79 EuroBasket victory over Bosnia Herzegovina, closes with 39 points on 13 of 20, including 7 of 10 on 3s, and 8 rebounds. Heat's Larsson (Sweden), Jovic (Serbia) off today.

Twitter