LIMASSOL (Cyprus) - Reigning champions Spain shrugged off any question marks about an opening night loss and showed they are alive and well at FIBA EuroBasket 2025 by rolling past Bosnia and Herzegovina 88-67 for their first win.
The four-time continental champs bounced back in fine fashion after losing to Georgia and evened their record at 1-1 in Group C. Bosnia and Herzegovina have the same mark.
Turning Point
Spain gained control of the game in the second quarter with an 11-2 run giving them a 35-20 cushion. And the advantage grew to 18 points in the period before four three-pointers in the first 4 minutes of the second half made it 56-34. And Spain never looked back.
TCL Player of the Game
Santi Aldama was unstoppable for Spain as the NBA forward made 7 of 11 shots including 4 three-pointers for 19 points. He also snatched 5 rebounds and committed zero turnovers in 19 minutes of action.
Willy Hernangomez scored 16 points and Dario Brizuela chipped in 15 points and 5 assists for the winners.
Kenan Kamenjas was the leading scorer for Bosnia and Herzegovina with 14 points while Jusuf Nurkic was limited to 10 points.
Stats Don't Lie
Spain buried 15 three-pointers at a solid 39 percent clip while excelling at guarding the opposing three-point line. The Dragons made just 3 of 21 triples for a paltry 14 percent.
Bottom Line
Spain will go into their next game on Sunday against Cyprus with a good feeling, having bounced back after losing to Georgia. They also registered a large winning margin, which could help counter their 14-point defeat to the Georgians should there be a three-way tie.
Bosnia and Herzegovina for their part face another tough test as they take on an Italian side that knocked off Georgia.
They Said
"We started with energy, with concentration, with intensity. We played several minutes of good basketball. We took 38 three-point shots, which is extremely important for us. And 25 assists was a huge number. And we had good team contribution." - Sergio Scariolo, Spain
"After our first game we really weren't ourselves. That is probably the hardest part, knowing you didn't do what you can control. At the end of the day, if we play our basketball with the necessary discipline and energy, I think we are in a very good spot." - Santi Aldama, Spain
"We knew we needed to step up today and I think we did on defense and rebounding and we ran and shared the ball a lot. We are happy about it but we still have three games to win." - Dario Brizuela, Spain
"We are not happy with the score and we are not happy with the way that we played. We are happy that we gave our maximum energy. But we didn't play clever. " - Aziz Bekir, Bosnia and Herzegovina
"With these games in competitions like this you can't think about the past. You have to keep going. We have another Final tomorrow. We have to come back with a whole new face, a completely different version of ourselves if we want to compete." - Amar Alibegovic, Bosnia and Herzegovina
"It was a tough game, a tough opponent. Spain is a really good team. We need to forget this game because we played bad. We just need to fix what we need to do better in the next game against Italy. That is an important game." - Aleksandar Lazic, Bosnia and Herzegovina
For more quotes, tune in to the official post-game press conference!
FIBA