Germany crowned EuroBasket champions

Germany came from behind in a tightly contested game to beat Turkey 88-83 and win the EuroBasket 2025 final on Sunday in Riga. This comes two years after Germany – with mostly the same players – won their first FIBA World Cup.

After German captain Dennis Schröder was presented with the EuroBasket trophy, he held it high under a shower of gold confetti – before handing it to ailing national team coach Alex Mumbru in a gesture of gratitude.

The Spaniard had been hospitalized with an inflamed pancreas at the start of the tournament and had been replaced as head coach by assistant Alan Ibrahimagic. Mumbru, visibly weakened, had returned to the sidelines for the knockout phase – but Ibrahimagic remained in charge through to the end.

Schröder takes charge in the fourth quarter

Turkey had held a narrow lead throughout most of the final, but Germany bounced back late in the fourth quarter.

The game had 15 lead changes and 11 ties, with the final lead change coming when Schröder scored on a drive to put Germany up by one with 1:15 left. He added a jumper with 18.7 seconds remaining and after Turkey's Alperen Sengun missed a 3-pointer that would have tied it. Schröder sealed gold with a pair of free throws.

Schröder, who finished the game with a total of 16 points and 12 assists was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament – just as he had been when Germany won the FIBA World Cup in 2023.

"We never shy away from the big moments. ... Everybody is so confident," Schröder, who currently plays for the NBA's Sacremento Kings, said.

"Just big-time plays from big-time character people."

Former NBA player Isaac Bonga, who is now with Belgrade club Partizan, was the top scorer for Germany with 20 points.

"You realize how hard you work for this. As a child, you dream of hitting these baskets in such a match," Bonga told German broadcaster RTL.

Key injuries

Franz Wagner, who scored 18 points on the night, brought his brother Moritz to tears by donning his brother's jersey for the award ceremony. Moritz, kept out of EuroBasket by injury, was watching in from California and providing analysis of the match for German broadcaster Magenta. Both Franz and Moritz were members of the 2023 World Cup-winning team.

Also ruled out by injury had been Isaiah Hartenstein, who won the NBA championship with Oklahoma City Thunder in June – while David Krämer and Johannes Voigtmann were forced out just before and during the tournament.

"It was unbelievable," said German Basketball Association (DBB) President Ingo Weiss. "The boys really wanted it and fought until the end. Everyone fights for each other. The team is the star."

Alperen Sengun had 28 points for Turkey, who got another 23 from Cedi Osman and a 13-point, nine-assist, six-rebound game from Shane Larkin in a losing cause.

Germany now two-time European basketball champion

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz congratulated the team for the "sensational performance" in a post on X.

"We are proud of you, you are an inspiration for young female and male athletes," Merz said.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier attended the final and took part in the awards ceremony in the Latvian capital.

While the team basked in the extensive victory celebration in Riga, congratulations came in from two of Germany's greatest sporting figure. 

"European champions!!!!" wrote  basketball legend Dirk Nowitzki on X.

Former tennis superstar Boris Becker chimed in with: “Yessssss!!!! We won and are European champions!”

Germany's men last won the European Championship in basketball in 1993 – and reached the final in 2005. They finished fourth at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games.

Edited by: Karl Sexton and Matt Pearson