Alperen Senn led Turkey to its first Eurobasket final since 2001 after a 94-68 semi-final victory over Greece.
The Houston Rockets Center provided 15 points and 12 rebounds, helping to organize the defensive masterpiece.
Turkey successfully locked up Greek superstar Giannis Antetocomo, limiting it to just 12 points in 30 minutes.
This performance marked Giannis’ lowest scoring output after never scoring less than 27 points throughout the tournament.
Alperen Sengun revealed a tactical approach that neutralized one of basketball’s most dominant forces.
The Turkish defensive scheme combined individual allocations with strategic teams to help disrupt the usual domination of Antetokounmpo.
“So we put Elkan (Osmani) on him and helped him as much as we could,” Senn explained after the match.
“And Elkan did an amazing job today. Of course, Giannis is one of the best players in the world. And we tried to help Elkan. I think we did a good job.”
Sengun specifically identified the passing restrictions for Antetokounmpo. This was used as an important weakness that Türkiye was exploited during its defensive game plan.
“He’s not a great passerby. He’s a great player. You know, but he’s not a great passerby. So we tried to help the paint and break it down,” Sengun added.
Sengun’s analysis could prove valuable to the NBA team and the Milwaukee Bucks under Doc Rivers.
The coaches will make EntetoCompo the primary ball handler next season as the team doesn’t have a shortage of star caliber point guards.
The NBA team is able to follow a successful strategy of collapse in Türkiye’s Antetokounmpo, putting him in a playmaking situation.
Painting the main assignments in Antetokounmpo, Osmani offered excellent two-way performance at 28 points, shooting 75% from the 3-point range.
Evolving beyond the comparison between him and “baby jocks”, he and Senn will lead Turkey in the 2025 Eurobasket final against Germany in pursuit of the first continental championship.