2025 Portugal MNT
084 · 2025-08-30 · easy
What if an NCAA basketball season were three years long, fan interest was based on birth rather than choice, and players needed special dispensation from the government to switch teams? You'd have EuroBasket. This isn't the first edition that's been held in four different countries (2015), but it's the first that's figured out that staggered opening-round tip times make it an all-day television show. You don't even have to call in sick to watch the games; it's Europe, in August, so everybody's on holiday anyway. Thirty-two teams play eight play-in games to make it to the Big Dance, which makes that part of it kind of like Championship Week, and minnows like Luxembourg and Albania always get taken out early. But sometimes – sometimes – a real underdog makes it all the way to the Field of 24. Portugal takes up one percent of the European landmass, but it hardly ever crosses anyone's mind. They won Eurovision that one time with a song that wasn't even fado, they have a footsoccer league that a few nerds pretend to like, and you can always find good red wine elsewhere for cheaper. As for hoops, what exactly is a Portugal? Even if you're a hardcore Boston Celtics fan, were you even aware that you have a "Neemias Queta" on the 15-man roster? This is a founding member of FIBA that's only qualified for EuroBasket four times in 90 years. Their journey began on August 25, 2022, and they took out Bulgaria, Romania, and Cyprus in the pre-qualifiers. For the actual qualies, they were placed in a round-robin pool that included the Slovenia Lukadoncics. They lost by 28 to last-place Ukraine, but a 2-4 record was good enough to survive and advance. Against Czechia on Wednesday, Portugal got its first main-draw win in 18 years; Queta had 23 points and 18 rebounds, which is a.) a lot and b.) some kind of record. In the second round-robin game on Friday, the Tugalanders held top seed Serbia within 11 and made their coach say things like "This is not the Serbian national team." All the more impressive because, just like in American basketball, no-name teams can't buy a free throw in 2025. Will they beat Kristaps Porzingis and pod hosts Latvia on Sunday and progress to the knockout round? Not likely, but the Portugal national men's team has accomplished something it hasn't managed in a long century: convincing others outside that basketball is actually played there.