MUNICH (Germany) - Diogo Brito had a night to remember after leading Portugal to victory with a record-tying eight three-pointers in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Qualifiers.
The 28-year-old had the hot hand in the 99-82 home triumph over Romania with a game-high 32 points, including the 8-of-10 attempts from downtown.
Brito had a chance to claim the outright single-game record in World Cup European Qualifiers record, but had to settle for joining Poland's AJ Slaughter and Amedeo Della Valle of Italy in a share of top spot.
# | Player | Team | Opposition | Year | 3-pointers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | AJ Slaughter | Poland | Germany | 2022 | 8 |
= | Amedeo Della Valle | Italy | Poland | 2018 | 8 |
= | Diogo Brito | Portugal | Romania | 2026 | 8 |
4. | Nick Calathes | Greece | Georgia | 2018 | 7 |
= | Matic Rebec | Slovenia | Latvia | 2018 | 7 |
= | Janis Blums | Latvia | Slovenia | 2018 | 7 |
= | Thad McFadden | Georgia | Ukraine | 2021 | 7 |
= | Dennis Schroder | Germany | Poland | 2022 | 7 |
= | Sasu Salin | Finland | Slovenia | 2022 | 7 |
= | Ludde Hakanson | Sweden | Slovenia | 2025 | 7 |
Brito also finished with an efficiency rating of 36 - tied for the third highest in World Cup European Qualifiers history. Only five players have produced a higher mark with Tryggvi Hlinason at the top of the pile with a mammoth 50 recorded in 2018.
Rank | Player | Team | Against | Year | EFF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Tryggvi Hlinason | Iceland | Italy | 2022 | 50 |
2. | Giorgi Shermadini | Georgia | Greece | 2019 | 37 |
= | Edin Atic | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bulgaria | 2019 | 37 |
= | Giannis Antetokounmpo | Greece | Serbia | 2022 | 37 |
= | Janis Strelnieks | Latvia | Montenegro | 2019 | 37 |
6. | Mario Hezonja | Croatia | Cyprus | 2025 | 36 |
= | Diogo Brito | Portugal | Romania | 2026 | 36 |
Portugal could qualify for the Second Round if they can repeat their victory over Romania, on the road, on Monday.
FIBA