Spain fell 89-95 to Portugal at the Pabellón Príncipe Felipe in Zaragoza and suffered only the second defeat in their history against the Portuguese national team. The start of the second phase of qualifying for the 2027 FIBA World Cup in Qatar could not have gone worse: Chus Mateo's side records its second loss in the process and travels to Athens with reduced margin.
A game of seven lead changes
The warning was there beforehand and went unheeded. Portugal came out imposing physicality, controlled the opening minutes despite Joel Parra's hot start (14-21) and forced Spain to play from behind. Improved defense and outside shooting brought equality, and with the first rotation—Mario Saint-Supéry and Baba Miller doing damage on the offensive glass and from the free-throw line—the national team went up 36-28. It didn't last long: the Portuguese regained momentum from three-point range and went into halftime leading (41-47).
The third quarter was the good one. Brizuela and Cárdenas launched Spain to 68-59, the game's largest lead. And then came the drought: three points in three minutes, 71-71 at the end of the period and a final quarter that started with four Spanish turnovers on the first possessions. Portugal did not forgive. A three-pointer by Cárdenas momentarily broke the drought, but the Portuguese already led (76-82), went up 87-78 with 3:24 remaining and managed the rest.
The numbers that explain the defeat
Spain committed 19 turnovers, suffered 11 steals and allowed 27 points off those lost balls. That is the entire game: seven lead changes and eight ties decided by what the national team gave away, not by what Portugal built.
Travante Williams, the naturalized small forward who once played for Manresa, was Portugal's leading scorer with 22 points and the player Spain never managed to stop. He was joined by Diogo Ventura (17), Neemias Queta (16 points and 9 rebounds) and Ruben Prey (15). On the Spanish side, Darío Brizuela finished with 19 points on four three-pointers, Álvaro Cárdenas 18 with 4 rebounds and 4 assists, and Joel Parra 17.
The debutants and what's ahead
Aday Mara made his senior international debut in his hometown, contributing points, rebounds and blocks, though the result spoiled his night. Baba Miller also made his debut, seeing impactful minutes in the first rotation of the second quarter.
With this result, Spain drops to 5-2 and Portugal rises to 4-3 in Group I, pending games from Ukraine and Montenegro. The top three from each group qualify, so the margin still exists, but it has narrowed and five matchdays remain, two of them against these same Portuguese. On Monday at 18:00, Spain visits Greece in Athens in a game that has gone from routine to must-win.