With qualification sealed, Portugal closed the Eurobasket qualification with a defeat

It was with a bitter taste in their mouths that Portugal celebrated their qualification for Eurobasket 2025 at home. In front of the crowd that filled the Matosinhos Sports and Congress Centre to celebrate their return to the international stage, the national team lost to Ukraine by 60-88 at the end of the qualifying phase for the European Basketball Championship.

The team led by Mário Gomes entered the field for the final round of qualifying with its destiny already decided. Portugal had secured its return to Eurobasket last Friday thanks to Slovenia's victory over Ukraine before even taking to the field against Israel .

With Ukraine having been eliminated – fourth in the group, behind Portugal – the match was just to fulfill the calendar and for the national team to celebrate with the Portuguese public the fourth time the men have participated in the European basketball tournament. Unlike the other match in Group A, in which Israel beat Slovenia and managed to finish the qualification in first place.

The Portuguese team started off behind early on, only managing to take the lead once in the match (10-9). Portugal was unable to counter the strong Ukrainian inside game and there was little inspiration in the shooting department (35% from the field and less than 13% from the three-point line) to balance the match. At half-time, the deficit was already nine points (41-32) and the Ukrainian team continued to increase the gap in the last twenty minutes.

The result did not prevent the celebration of qualification at the end of the match, with the Matosinhos crowd applauding the national team, which will be present in the tournament that will take place between 27 August and 14 September in four cities: Riga (Latvia), Katowice (Poland), Tampere (Finland) and Limassol (Cyprus).

This will be Portugal's fourth appearance at the European Basketball Championship, and the third since the qualifying round began (after 2007 and 2011). The men's team's feat comes just a few weeks after the women's team qualified for the women's Eurobasket for the first time in history.

Ruben Prey misses Eurobasket

The next step on the road to Eurobasket is the group stage draw, scheduled for March 27 in Riga. The squad that played in the last two qualifying games includes most of the core of the national team, but Mário Gomes will be counting on the availability of Neemias Queta, the Portuguese center who represents Portugal in the North American Basketball League (NBA).

The youngster Rúben Prey will not be present at Eurobasket, according to statements made by the national coach to the sports website zerozero . The young Portuguese prospect, who this year went to the North American university championship (NCAA) to represent St. John's University, has been prevented by the team from playing for Portugal next summer.

"The information I have is that the university does not authorize Rúben Prey to be with us at the time when Eurobasket is being played. Those responsible at the university, including the coach [Rick Pitino], were categorical: At that time, no way," said Mário Gomes.

The coach in charge of Portugal since 2016 also reported that the national technical director, Nuno Manaia, recently traveled to New York, where he learned about the position of the university program.