Türkiye secured a spot in the 2025 European Basketball Championship (EuroBasket 2025) with a hard-fought 81-76 victory over Hungary on Monday, thanks to a standout performance from forward Cedi Osman.
Osman tallied 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while teammate Ömer Yurtseven added 22 points in the tense qualifier at Hungary’s Savaria Arena.
The win, which saw Türkiye rise to second place in Group B with seven points, guaranteed their qualification with two games to spare, as they sealed a top-three finish in the group.
Gyorgy Goloman led Hungary with 16 points, but it wasn’t enough to secure a much-needed victory.
Earlier in the qualifiers, Türkiye dominated Hungary 92-66 on Friday, with Şehmus Hazer emerging as the top scorer, netting 25 points.
Osman chipped in with 21 points, while Ercan Osmani added 17.
Zoltan Perl was Hungary’s leading scorer in that game, posting 16 points, and Goloman contributed 11 points and seven rebounds.
The Crescent Stars bounced back strongly after an opening defeat to Italy, securing consecutive wins over Iceland and Hungary to put them just one victory away from EuroBasket qualification.
Türkiye’s victory over Hungary marked their second win in the European Championship qualifiers, further cementing their path to the 2025 tournament.
Meanwhile, Hungary’s third loss in Group B added further complications to their qualification hopes.
In Group C, reigning EuroBasket champions Spain clinched their own qualification spot for the 2025 edition with an 84-71 win over Slovakia.
Spanish forward Santi Yusta led the charge with 25 points, while Slovakia’s Vladimir Brodziansky scored 19, but his efforts weren’t enough to upset the Spaniards at Spain’s Pazo dos Deportes Paco Paz.
With six points from four games, Spain’s place in the final round is secured, continuing their streak of appearances since 1957.
In a surprising turn of events, Group B leaders Italy suffered their first defeat of the qualifiers, falling 81-74 to Iceland.
Iceland’s Kristinn Palsson was the star of the game, scoring 22 points to help his team seal the win at Italy’s Palasport Giulio Bigi.
Despite the loss, Italy still sit at the top of Group B with seven points from four matches, ahead of Türkiye on point difference, and has already secured their place in the EuroBasket finals.
