Eurobasket 2025 classification – Group C – Matchday 1
Spain
Latvia
The Spanish basketball team debuted in the qualifying phase for the 2025 European Basketball Championship with a defeat against Latvia (75:79). Beyond the result, the most notable note of the game was the return of Ricky Rubio to the national team after six and a half months without playing, a time that the Catalan player dedicated to treating his health problems.
Rubio played a total of 20 minutes in which he scored 11 points, caught one rebound and had 11 assists. The Catalan point guard was part of the starting quintet along with Room.
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He later returned to the court just over four minutes before halftime and once again led his team by providing three more assists, two of which he completed with dunks from teammate Jaime Pradilla. And then Rubio scored his first two points from the free throw line in the final minute of the first half.
His field goal drought continued through the first five minutes of the second half, and he was back on the bench after picking up his third foul. Finally, Rubio returned to the court to participate in the final five minutes of the game, which ended at 64-66. That's when he scored his first basket of the game, which came on a head-on shot with two minutes left. . His only three-pointer came when Spain needed it most, but he was unable to complete the comeback when he missed at the free throw line.
“I feel incredible, the truth is he was missed very much. “The atmosphere is spectacular and there are also very talented young people coming,” said Rubio after the game. The now 33-year-old Barcelona player signed with the Catalan side on February 6th on a contract until the end of the season. So he began training on Roger Grimau's orders, but did not play a game when he returned to the club where he played before landing in the NBA.
With this defeat, the Spanish team's journey to the 2025 European Basketball Championship begins with a stumble, but the alarm bells have not yet rung. Sergio Scariolo's team still has commitments ahead in which two places will be contested, distributed between three teams: Spain, Belgium and Slovakia. The national team's next engagement will take place next Sunday, February 25th, in Charleroi against the Belgian team.
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