Less than a minute into Portugal’s opening game against the Neemias Queta squared up for a top-of-the-key three-pointer.
Swish.
The Celtics center, who has never hit a three-pointer in his four-year NBA career, sank one right off the bat in Portugal’s EuroBasket opener against the Czech Republic. Queta finished the game with 23 points, 18 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 2 steals, establishing himself as the game’s most dominant player on both ends. Queta hit 10 of 15 shots and grabbed 3 offensive rebounds, leading
Portugal to a critical victory.
The first half was a brilliant display of two-way dominance for Queta, who beat the halftime buzzer with an elbow jumper for 15 points on 7 of 8 shooting.
He swatted three shots, but altered and prevented many more, with the game’s announcer stating: “It’s gotten to the point for Czechia that if Queta’s nearby, they aren’t even going up with the basketball.” As such, Portugal was markedly better with Queta on the floor; Portugal outscored Czechia by 21 points in his 30 minutes.
The Czech Republic made a third-quarter run with Queta on the bench, but Portugal pulled away in the fourth quarter. The Czechs cut the deficit to 5 with just under 6 minutes to play, but a Queta putback layup helped extend Portugal’s lead.
Queta is one of more than a dozen NBA players currently playing in EuroBasket, Europe’s premier basketball tournament, which takes place every four years. 24 European teams are competing in group play, and 16 of those will qualify for the knockout stages.
For Portugal, guard Rafael Lisboa was also impactful, tallying 15 points and hitting 3 of 6 three-pointers. Only one Czech player scored in double figures: Vit Kerjci, who scored 1o points alongside 3 assists.
Neemias Queta, Portugal, face Nikola Jokic, Serbia, next
It’s no surprise that Queta dominated Wednesday’s match-up against the Czech Republic; he was the only NBA player on the court, after all. But bigger challenges against more formidable NBA post players are coming.
Next, Portugal faces Serbia — and three-time MVP Nikola Jokic — on Friday afternoon. Next week, Queta will be tasked with limiting Turkey’s Alperen Sengun and Latvia’s Kristaps Porzingis, too.
Here’s the full schedule of Portugal’s upcoming games:
- Friday, August 29th at 2:15pm against Serbia
- Saturday, August 30th at 2:15pm against Turkey
- Monday, September 1st at 11am against Latvia
- Wednesday, September 3rd at 7:45am against Estonia
Knockout games begin on Saturday, September 16th.
