Germany sends Markkanen home and advances to the EuroBasket 2025 Final
The current world champion, led by Wagner and Schroder, did not give any chances to the promising Nordic team
There was no surprise. Finland's incredible adventure in Eurobasket 2025 ended in the semifinals by falling to none other than Germany, who, after getting past Luka Doncic in the quarterfinals aided by the referees, this time showed their champion-level performance to win 98-86 and advance to the grand final in Riga.
After a strong start by the Finnish team, the Germans quickly reacted with a strong finish to the first quarter and especially with a great second quarter where they caused much damage from defense to their opponent. With a 10-0 run, they opened up a 14-point lead at halftime.
Outstanding first half performance from Franz Wagner, showcasing his immense class with 20 points. Also, Dennis Schroder was fantastic with 13 points and 8 assists. The top German players took charge. On the Nordic side, Lauri Markkanen was well defended and finished with 8 points at halftime (0 for 4 on threes), contrasting with 9 points by Mikael Jantunen and 13 by Olivier Nkamhoua.
Despite a comeback attempt by the Finnish team at the start of the second half, Germany did not yield, showing why they are the current world champions and extending their lead to nearly 20 points. Towards the end of the third quarter, Finland fought back, held the Germans scoreless for almost 3 minutes, and cut the deficit to 6 points. They went into the final quarter trailing by just 8. The game was on.
Match Outcome
In the final quarter, Germany once again tightened their defense. The Germans surged to a 14-point lead with just over 7 kilometers to go. Wagner was highly efficient with transition penetrations after turnovers from a Finnish team that was taking risks with so much at stake. Germany remained solid and secured a convincing victory. Nevertheless, honors to a great Finland with a historic Eurobasket journey.
Schorder wrapped up his outstanding performance with 26 points and 12 assists, undoubtedly the MVP of the match. Wagner finished with 22 points, and Daniel Theis contributed with 10 points and 11 rebounds. In Finland, Markkanen had a tough game, well defended, managing 16 points on 6 for 17 shooting. Nkamhoua was the standout with 21 points.
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Alemania manda a casa a Markkanen y se mete en la Final del Eurobasket 2025
