RIGA (Latvia) - Back in 2007, most of the players from the current roster were in school, starting another semester while watching Joao Santos, Joao Betinho Gomes and others fighting for a place among the top eight teams in Europe, narrowly missing out and finishing ninth.
In 2025, the players from the current roster will get a chance to do the same. Portugal reached the Knockout Phase for the first time ever, defeating Estonia 68-65 and setting up a date with Group B winners in the Round of 16 on Saturday.
Turning Point
Emotions were running high in this one and it came down to the wire.
Portugal thought they had it with an 11-0 run late in the third and early in the fourth stanza, but Artur Konontsuk had three straight triples and a layup to give Estonia a 64-61 lead heading into the final minute.
When Portugal needed a hero, they gave the ball to Rafael Lisboa, and the point guard knocked down a massive three-pointer from way beyond the arc, before making all four free throws in the closing seconds to give Portugal a memorable win.
Estonia tried forcing overtime, but Kristian Kullamae's halfcourt shot did not drop as time expired.
TCL Player of the Game
Rafael Lisboa took matters into his own hands in this game, coming off the bench in a heroic effort with 17 points and 5 assists.
Stats Don't Lie
Estonia struggled to find any kind of offensive flow throughout the game, committing 17 turnovers, including one when they had the chance to take the lead in the final 10 seconds.
To make it worse, 8 of those were also Portugal's steal, resulting in a number of easy buckets that pointed the Round of 16 ship Portugal's way. Portugal won the points off turnovers 19-7, big difference in such a close game.
Bottom Line
Even with Neemias Queta (15 points) picking up two technical fouls in the third quarter and being forced to watch the rest of the game from the locker room, Portugal showed incredible spirit to bounce back and pick up their second win of the day.
Estonia, meanwhile, heard the ovations from the 5,010 fans in the stands, but they could not advance from Group A.
Their fans are still one of the best stories of the entire FIBA EuroBasket, and they stayed long after the final buzzer to applaud the heartbroken Estonian players.
They Said
"Unbelievable feeling! That was our goal since the beginning of the competition, to accomplish the goals is always good and we are really, really, really happy. This is the win from the character of our team. We never gave up, we gave everything to the end, and that's why we won this game." - Rafael Lisboa, Portugal
"I've seen him make that before. I trust him, I believe in him, whatever he does, I'm okay with it. I knew it was going in." - Travante Williams, Portugal, talking about the last Lisboa shot
For more quotes, tune in to the official post-game press conference!
FIBA