RIGA (Latvia) - Germany survived a three-point shooting struggle to eventually pull away from Portugal with an 85-58 victory in the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Round of 16 with head coach Alex Mumbru returning to the sidelines.
The reigning world champs remained perfect in the tournament and reached the Quarter-Finals for the third straight edition. Mumbru was coaching his first game after recovering from an acute illness that sent the playcaller to the hospital.
Turning Point
Germany had not been tested in the tournament and were the top scoring team with 105.8 points per game. But they struggled offensively against the underdogs, trailing 7-2 in the early going - the team's biggest deficit thus far in the tournament.
Portugal also led 26-21 and 32-21 at intermission. Germany's 14 points in the second quarter were the fewest in any quarter in the tournament and their 31 in the first half were the lowest output in 20 minutes.
Germany's outside shooting woes would not let them pull away and Portugal were down just 44-43. But then Maodo Lo hit a three-pointer after the Germans had hit just 1 of 24 triple attempts. Eight straight points gave Germany a 52-43 cushion but the gap was only 52-51 after 30 minutes. The floodgates opened in the fourth quarter with a 22-3 run 74-54 to finally finish off the game.
TCL Player of the Game
With Germany's high-octane offense sputtering the entire the first half , Franz Wagner was one of the few weapons working for Mumbru's team. He finished the game with 16 points including many high energy plays to go with 7 rebounds and 6 assists.
Dennis Schroder collected 16 points, Isaac Bonga had a big all-around game with 15 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals, and Maodo Lo drained 4 important three-pointers for 12 points.
Neemias Queta was a menace in the paint for Portugal but his 18 points and 11 rebounds were not enough.
Stats Don't Lie
Germany came into the game shooting 43 percent on three-pointers but made just 1 of their first 24 triples. They then drained 6 of the next 7 and finished at 10 of 36 for 28 percent. Germany were a force otherwise, hitting 71 percent on two-pointers.
Even though Germany could not hit their three-pointers for much of the game, they were still able to run. They turned 15 Portugal turnovers into 20 points.
Bottom Line
This result feels like a wake-up call loss in the group stage for a title contender and Germany will certainly use it that way. Germany improved to 5-0 all time against Portugal in their first meeting since 1997. Next up for the team is the winner between Italy and Slovenia.
Portugal will be heading home having already made history by finishing among the top 16 teams for the first time since 2007. Next up for the federation is to continue the excellent work and get the national team qualified for future major events.
They Said
"The first half wasn't that bad offensively, we just didn't make shots and were a little bit tight and trying to get this fun back that we usually have. I don't know if we needed it but we have to face whatever comes." - Alan Ibrahimagic, Germany
"We couldn't play as fast as we wanted to. In the second half, especially defensively we did much better. We just wanted to stay aggressive." - Isaac Bonga, Germany
"We had so much experience and did a good job turning it around, bringing more energy. Isaac (Bonga) and Maodo (Lo) did a great job leading the way in terms of energy off the bench." - Tristan Da Silva, Germany
"There must be some coaches happy with their teams in this championship at this moment. But none of them are happier than I am about my team." - Mario Gomes, Portugal
For more quotes, tune in to the official post-game press conference!
FIBA