LIMASSOL (Cyprus) - Bosnia and Herzegovina took care of business right out of the gates and defeated Cyprus 91-64 to open their FIBA EuroBasket 2025 campaign in the first-ever game in the competition for the host nation.
Bosnia and Herzegovina were pushed by their strong support at the Spyros Kyprianou Arena as the Dragons avoided an early upset in their fight to get through a difficult Group C.
Turning Point
Cyprus hung around for the first seven minutes but Bosnia and Herzegovina pulled away with a 15-2 run to grab a 30-15 lead midway through the second quarter. The cushion swelled to 24 points late in the first half.
Spurred on by the home fans, Cyprus fought back into the game and pulled within eight points at 62-54 but the Dragons buried three three-pointers to finish off the host side.
TCL Player of the Game
Jusuf Nurkic was too much to handle all game as the Balkan big man collected 18 points with 2 three-pointers while adding 6 rebounds - four of them from the offensive glass - to go with 2 steals and 1 block.
Stats Don't Lie
Cyprus was held to just 37 percent shooting, including 38 percent on two-pointers. Bosnia and Herzegovina struggled from the outside with just 32 percent shooting but they knocked down 13 triples. The Balkan side also grabbed 19 offensive rebounds to help their cause.
And one for the record books, Ioannis Pashialis scored the first-ever EuroBasket points for Cyprus with a jumper after nearly three minutes.
Bottom Line
Things will get more difficult for Bosnia and Herzegovina in the second game as they will face reigning champions Spain. And it will be a Spanish team wounded after losing their opening game to Georgia.
Cyprus, meanwhile, have their much anticipated matchup with neighbors Greece, but with some positives to take from their first encounter.
They Said
"It was a game of two faces for us. Some periods we played really well - how we wanted. But then there were some periods where we lost control. But in the end, this is a EuroBasket and everybody can beat everybody. We are happy with the win." - Aziz Bekir, Bosnia and Herzegovina
"We respect the opponent. At the end of the day, we deserved the win and onto the next game. We knew they would make a run and we expected it. We couldn't control when they got hot, but we didnt panic and we won." - Jusuf Nurkic, Bosnia and Herzegovina
"At halftime we expected them to come back and try everything and they did that. We were not ready. We have to prepare for the next game. We are happy that everybody played and we got what we wanted - the win." - Amar Gegic, Bosnia and Herzegovina
"It was a great experience, the first game. We did start with a little bit of anxiety, the ball wasn't falling in at the beginning. After we settled down we showed that we are competitive. The good thing was we played competitive basketball for 30 minutes. And that is an improvement. That is what we are chasing - being competitive for the longest duration that we can." - Simon Michail, Cyprus
This game report will be updated in the coming moments. Stay tuned.
For more quotes, tune in to the official post-game press conference!
FIBA