Türkiye vs Poland Where to Watch and Game Preview

• → Game to take place at Arena Riga, Riga on Tuesday, September 9 at 17:00 EEST (UTC+3)
• → Form check: Türkiye ground past Sweden 85-79 behind Alperen Şengün’s 24-16-6 in the Round of 16;
• → Poland outlasted Bosnia and Herzegovina 80–72 with Jordan Loyd dropping 28 and Mateusz Ponitka anchoring late.

Türkiye vs Poland — subline: “The fulcrum and the flamethrower”

Group A’s pacesetter (Türkiye) meets the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 co-hosts who’ve been reborn around a new go-to scorer (Poland). It’s Şengün’s playmaking gravity (and a top-level supporting cast) versus Loyd’s shotmaking nerve for a place in the last four.

Ergin Ataman has given this group a clear identity: let Alperen Şengün touch everything. The big man is operating like a point center in Riga - triggering early seals, flowing into dribble handoffs with shooters lifting from the corners, then punishing switches with that slow-quick footwork and feathery touch. The box score love is real: low-20s scoring with double-digit boards and point-guard assists, and yet the tape screams even louder! He’s setting the cadence of games, toggling between delay actions up top and deep catches when he wants to force help.

Around him, the perimeter is functional and fearless. Shane Larkin is the pace accelerator and late-clock bailout, equally happy to sprint into pull-ups or snake into the midrange when defenses tilt too hard at the post. Türkiye’s wings have defended above their weight all tournament - chesting up drivers, scrapping at the nail, and living with hard closeouts because Şengün’s timing as a second jumper has erased a lot behind them. When Ataman goes to five-out (dragging Şengün above the break and letting guards slip backdoors), it turns into a trust exercise for opponents: help one pass away and Türkiye bombards you from three; stay home and Şengün walks into paint touches.

The one caution: live-ball turnovers when the tempo spikes. If Türkiye get loose with outlets or over-dribble into digs, Poland will run. But if they control possessions and impose a half-court game, the match becomes a math problem Poland doesn’t love—too many high-value looks off inside-out creation.

Jordan Loyd Leads the Biało-czerwoni's Dreams

When Jeremy Sochan announced his absence from FIBA EuroBasket 2025 - many were writing the "Red and White" off, even with the crowd supporting Ponitka & co during the group stage. However, Poland have proved fans and journalists wrong as they did in 2022, thanks to a stellar debut from their naturalized star Jordan Loyd.

New passport, same Jordan Loyd: daunting shotmaker. From his debut against Slovenia to the Bosnian knockout, Loyd has been ruthless in advantage moments—hunting the weak link, slamming on the brakes into step-backs, and living at the line when defenders crowd his handle. He’s not helio in the “every touch runs through me” sense; he’s surgical. Poland’s flow under Igor Miličić keeps the ball hopping until it finds Loyd at his preferred spots, especially on empty-side pick-and-rolls where the weakside tag is a half-step late by design.

Mateusz Ponitka remains Poland’s connective tissue. His dirty-work stat lines - glass, rotations, second-side drives - matter as much as any box-score pop. The bigs (Aleksander Balcerowski, Dominik Olejniczak) must be perfect in screening angles to pry Larkin off the chase and force Şengün to defend in space more frequently. And Poland will need a “someone else game” - Michal Sokołowski cutting behind hard closeouts or Andrzej Pluta catching fire - to stretch Türkiye’s shell.

Defensively, Miličić will mix coverage: early hard digs on Şengün’s dribbles, then late stunt-and-recover once shooters find rhythm. Expect a few possessions of fronting the post with immediate baseline help, daring Türkiye’s weakside to make two passes under pressure. If Poland can turn this into a whistle-heavy, stop-start affair, their composure in crunchtime could travel.

Who will punch the final four ticket?

For Türkiye, this is the doorway to the medal rounds they’ve spent a year talking into existence. For Poland, it’s a chance to turn co-host energy and a mid-tournament makeover into a second semifinal in three editions—and validate handing the keys to Loyd on the biggest stage.

Winning means facing one of Greece and Lithuania - a daunting proposition, but this EuroBasket has proved that nothing can be taken for granted in Riga. Will it be Şengün or Ponitka-ball in the Semi-Finals?

How to watch Türkiye vs Poland

Stream Türkiye vs Poland live on Courtside 1891 and pick the Max Event Pass for this event window or go Max Annual for year-round access to EuroBasket and other FIBA competitions. Regional availability and blackouts may apply.