Day 3 of FIBA EuroBasket 2025 belonged to the big men.
Utah Jazz star Lauri Markkanen exploded for 29 of his 43 points in the first half in a dazzling performance that highlighted Finland’s 109-79 rout of Great Britain, securing back-to-back wins in Group B play.
Markkanen also finished with seven three-pointers and four steals in just 23 minutes, matching his EuroBasket high for points, set in 2022 against Croatia. He was four points shy of the all-time tournament record of 47 points, set by Slovenia’s Luka Doncic against France in 2022.
Finland drained 18 triples—the most in the tournament so far—as Sasu Salin added 21 points, including seven makes from deep.
Not to be outdone, Alperen Sengün flirted with a triple-double as Turkey cruised past the Czech Republic, 92-78.
The Houston Rockets big man finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists as the Turkish squad improved to 2-0 in Group A.
Cedi Osman chipped in 21 points for Turkey, who aim for their first 3-0 tournament start since 2009 when they face Portugal (1-1).
Meanwhile, Nikola Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas made their presence felt to help Serbia and Lithuania, respectively, to comfortable wins that kept them unbeaten.
The 2023 NBA champion and Finals MVP posted a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds in 23 minutes of action in Serbia’s 80-69 victory over
On the other hand, Valanciunas scored 19 points on just nine shots in Lithuania’s 94-67 rout of Montenegro.
Rokas Jokubaitis led the way with 21 points as Lithuania improved to 2-0 in Group B, alongside Finland and reigning world champion Germany, who overpowered Sweden earlier, 105-83.
They also set a EuroBasket record with 35 assists, while the 33-year-old Valanciunas became just the sixth player ever to reach 500 points in tournament history.
Finally, Kristaps Porzingis unloaded 26 points as Latvia clawed back from a 12-point deficit to outlast Estonia, 72-70. It marked the first win for Latvia (1-1) in the tournament after a flat 93-73 loss to Turkey in their opening match.
