Porzingis pushes Latvia past Italy; dominant Serbia beat Slovenia

ATHENS (Greece) – Revenge must be served cold, they say. That’s what Latvia did against Italy.

Following the loss in their first friendly game on August 9, they bounced back in their last appointment ahead of FIBA EuroBasket 2025 on August 21, still against the Azzurri, before returning to Riga.

Luca Banchi’s team led from the beginning to the end, finishing with the 83-68 win in OAKA.

It was a complete dominance for the Baltic team, immediately bouncing back one day after getting beaten at the Acropolis Tournament by Greece in Giannis Antetokounmpo’s debut this summer.

Gianmarco Pozzecco’s team, on the other side, struggled especially from deep, shooting 2/17 from beyond the arc. Simone Fontecchio had difficulties as well, shooting only 3/15 from the field.

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Roster tracker: Who is playing at FIBA EuroBasket 2025?

Tracker: Preparation games for FIBA EuroBasket 2025

Top performers: Latvia put on a collective show, with the country’s leader, Kristaps Porzingis, showing a complete effort of 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Rolands Smits and Davis Bertans combined for 25 points.

Three Italian young guns, Matteo Spagnolo (17 points), Momo Diouf (14 points,) and Saliou Niang (6 points and 10 rebounds), were inspired in Athens.

Another top performer was Marco Spissu. Not only for his stat line of 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists, but especially for the number he chose: Achille Polonara’s beloved #33.

Marco Spissu’s wonderful gesture

Achille will be there in spirit: Spissu chooses No. 33 for Polonara

Up next: This was Latvia’s final preparation encounter ahead of FIBA EuroBasket 2025, where they dream of extending their home stay until the very final games. In their preparations, they finished 2-3.

Italy, instead, will conclude the action at the Acropolis Tournament by facing Greece on August 22, hoping to rapidly bounce back. Their winning streak got interrupted against Latvia, as they now stand at 4-1.

Other games

Serbia 106-72 Slovenia

Can anybody stop Serbia? The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 runners-up are putting all of Europe on notice, concluding their seven-game preparation campaign ahead of FIBA EuroBasket 2025 as unbeaten.

At the moment, the answer surely can’t be Slovenia, as proven tonight in Belgrade. Serbia enjoyed a 34-point victory (106-72) over Luka Doncic and his teammates, who enter the competition on a 1-5 record.

Svetislav Pesic’s team got pushed by their fans and by Nikola Jovic’s 18 points and 7 rebounds. Bogdan Bogdanovic was excellent too, adding 14 points on 4 of 5 from deep, while Nikola Jokic had 10 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists in 21 minutes.

Finland 106-87 Poland

We have breaking news: Lauri Markkanen is a human being, after all. After averaging more than 40 points over his first three friendly game appearances, the King of the North finished at 6 points and 7 rebounds in Finland’s crushing 106-87 victory against Poland – their second consecutive, this time at home in Espoo.

Lassi Tuovi’s team, therefore, will host the tournament coming off a perfect 4-0 run. Tonight, even the 18-year-old Miikka Muurinen shone with 10 points, while Olivier Nkamhoua led at 18.

On the red-and-white end, Jordan Loyd had a losing effort of 17 points. The Polish national team will also return home, to Katowice, hosting Group D following a 3-5 run in friendly games.

Czechia 100-87 Georgia

Czechia took down Georgia 100-87, mainly thanks to Vit Krejci’s 18 points and 5 assists. This was their second consecutive victory against the winless Georgian side.

Six Czech players concluded the winning encounter on double-digits, while Sandro Mamukelashvili was his team’s main protagonist with 22 points and 7 rebounds. Tornike Shengelia was once again absent from contention.

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