RIGA (Latvia) - Six teams will gather in the Latvian capital of Riga to start their FIBA EuroBasket 2025 campaigns.
The 11,200 capacity seated Arena Riga will serve as the backdrop for the Group A action with 15 games being played from August 27 to September 3.
Which four teams from Portugal, Estonia, Latvia, Türkiye, Serbia and Czechia will advance and qualify for the Final Phase in Riga?
Schedule
Serbia
They held the United States in check for nearly the entire game at the Olympics, they won five major medals over the past 11 years, and they are hungrier than ever to pick up that one thing that's missing for this generation - gold. With Nikola Jokic and Bogdan Bogdanovic on the court, the sky's the limit for Serbia, but they will be extra careful this time around, after their shocking elimination in the Round of 16 in 2022.
Latvia
From today's perspective, it sounds incredible that Latvia had missed the event in 2022. But that sparked a whole turnaround for the hosts of this event, as good things started to happen once coach Luca Banchi took over, making them one of the feel-good stories of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, and propelling the nation to a 6-0 sprint through the Qualifiers, even though they already knew they had qualified as hosts.
Czechia
From 1993 to 2011, Czechia only played a pair of FIBA EuroBasket Final Rounds. The switch happened in 2013, when they became a regular in this event, culminating with a seventh-place finish in 2015. Injuries slowed down their campaign in 2022 when they hosted the Group Phase in Prague, and they weren't able to recreate the kind of form which saw them finishing ninth at the Olympics in 2021.
Türkiye
Make it 15 FIBA EuroBasket appearances in a row for Türkiye, a run which included silver in 2001, and three other top eight finishes. But the last time they were in the Quarter-Finals was in 2009, giving this group plenty of motivation to make themselves a part of the contenders group chat in 2025. All eyes will be on 23-year-old Alperen Sengun, a superstar capable of averaging a stat line of 20, 10 and 5 with ease.
Estonia
There was no stress at all when Estonia entered the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers, and they cruised through impressively, finishing with a 4-2 record to make it back-to-back appearances at the Final Round. It's all part of a bigger picture, as this event lays down the foundation for what will happen in four years' time. Estonia will host the next FIBA EuroBasket, consider 2025 as a warm-up lap for the Baltic side.
Portugal
Portuguese basketball is on its way up, as evident by their clubs taking part in the Basketball Champions League and the FIBA Europe Cup, but also with the national team putting together a strong run during the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers. They ended a 14-year-long drought by qualifying to the Final Round, now they have another streak to end, as their last FIBA EuroBasket win happened 18 years ago in Spain.
Star Player
NBA champion, NBA Finals MVP, triple NBA Most Valuable Player, seven-time NBA All-Star, and two-time Olympic medalist. Nikola Jokic is exactly as described, one of the biggest superstars in all of sports right now.
The Serbian center feels at home in the national team, surrounded by a majority of players around his age, people he had played with since they were kids. Now it's time to reap the benefits of that familiarity.
Jokic has played the EuroBasket only once, in 2022. He powered Serbia's run with 21.7 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists, giving him an unreal tournament efficiency rating of 31.7, but you know he doesn't care all that much about those numbers.
The only thing that matters to the Joker right now is finishing a tournament with a win on September 14.
Poll: Who will qualify for Final Phase?
History
COUNTRY | LAST PARTICIPATION | BEST FINISH | APPEARANCE |
2011 (21st place) | 9th place (2007) | 4th | |
2022 (19th place) | 5th place (1937, 1939) | 7th | |
2017 (5th place) | Champions (1935) | 15th | |
2022 (10th place) | 2nd place (2001) | 26th | |
2022 (9th place) | 2nd place (2009, 2017) | 8th | |
2022 (16th place) | 7th place (2015) | 7th |
FIBA World Ranking for Men presented by NIKE
RANK | NATIONAL TEAM |
#2 | Serbia |
#9 | Latvia |
#19 | Czechia |
#27 | Türkiye |
#43 | Estonia |
#56 | Portugal |
Tickets
FIBA