Spain loses for the first time in its history against Portugal in preparation for Eurobasket

Friendly match, historic victory. Portugal defeated Spain (74-76) in Malaga this Tuesday, in a Eurobasket warm-up match. The Portuguese, who had never beaten their neighbors in 13 competitive matches, were trailing 44-31 at halftime, but made the difference at the very end of the match.

The Seleção even came back from an 18-point deficit (32-14, 12th) to overcome an unrecognizable Roja in the second half (30-45 during the last 20 minutes). Sergio Scariolo's men may have held on to the skill of Santi Aldama (9 points), but they were never able to contain the assaults of Boston Celtics player Neemias Queta (17 points, 9 rebounds), man of the match and author of a final furious dunk to seal the fate of the match.

A prestigious victory for Portugal, the 56th FIBA nation, on the eve of their fourth participation in the Eurobasket finals in their history. The Red and Greens, who have never reached the group stages at the Olympic Games or the World Cup, will compete in the Euro (from August 27 to September 14) in a tough group, including Serbia and Latvia.

For Spain, this poor performance at home is unwelcome less than a month before a major international competition, where they will soon cross paths with Greece and Italy. La Roja, whose squad has been largely renewed following the 2024 Olympics and the retirements of Sergio Llull and Rudy Fernandez , will try to reassure themselves on Thursday, against the Czech Republic, beaten a little earlier by... the Spanish B team.