Neemias Queta watched the greatest moment in his country’s basketball history from the locker room. Rafael Lisboa, his friend since 15 and long-time teammate, recovered the ball after Portugal nearly lost it trailing by three points with one minute remaining. He shrugged off an erratic minute for the team on both ends, spotted up several steps behind the three-point line and knocked down a game-tying three that saved the team — and Queta.
A pair of technical fouls in rapid succession early in the third quarter could’ve left Queta with years of regret. Instead, Lisboa converted game-winning free throws moments after his iconic shot to defeat Estonia, 68-65, in a win-to-advance group play finale for Portugal. The Portuguese national team advanced to the knockout stage of EuroBasket for the first time in the country’s history, the kind of showcase for the country’s basketball progress Lisboa and Queta dreamt about throughout the summer.
“We know that we go there as underdogs,” Lisboa told CLNS Media/CelticsBlog in July at Queta’s Lisbon camp. “But our belief as a group is to try to pass the first phase and advance to the second round, so I think we have a team for that and we go there to try to fight for our country.”
Wins over the Czech Republic and Estonia proved upsets for a Portugal team that hadn’t won a EuroBasket game since 2007. They advanced to the second round of group play then, when the format involved a longer path to group play. The abbreviated schedule in this tournament set up Queta opposite Nikola Jokić and Alperen Şengün on back-to-back days before a third game in four days where he battled former teammate Kristaps Porziņģis. Portugal lost all three games decisively.
A fourth matchup in six days saw Queta start slowly, scoring one point in the first quarter before successfully turning to his fadeaway jumper in the second. But he missed three out of four free throw tries in the frame, keeping pace within five points despite leaving five of the nine points Portugal lost at the free throw line himself. He cleaned that up into the third, where he made 3-of-4 and jawed with Estonia’s Kasper Treier after drawing a foul that knocked him to the floor. They received offsetting technicals that initially benefited Portugal because FIBA rules meant that Treier picked up a fourth personal foul by drawing a tech. He went to the bench, but Queta earned a longer break four plays later when he yelled and-one in Matthias Tass’ face a go-ahead cutting finish.
“About that situation, I’m not gonna say a lot of things, just due to the respect I have for the game, the respect I have for all the players and the respect I have for all the coaches,” Portugal head coach Mário Gomes said. “I’m just going to say it’s very easy to make a call like that to a Portuguese player. About the team reaction, we didn’t know what will happen. With almost 15 minutes to play, we didn’t know. I’m a coach, I’m not a magician, I’m not a guru, I’m just coach. One thing I knew, after what happened, the team was going to react. The team was not going to throw the towel, as we used to say. It’s about character.”
Queta reached 15 points on 5-of-7 two point shooting despite his misses at the free throw line (5/10) and slow start. He grabbed three rebounds and recorded a steal and a block in 22 minutes, the increasing workload and condensed schedule a preview of what he’ll face with the Celtics this season. What he likely won’t see is the outsized attention defenses placed on him as Portugal built its offensive game plan around his skills. Without him, Lisboa needed to win his matchups and did. Portugal maintained its lead with a 9-8 run following Queta’s ejection, and a Lisboa three early in the fourth sparked a 3-for-6 finish with two assists.
Before his game-saving moments, Estonia’s screening actions disheveled Portugal’s defense and opened three shots from deep that thwarted a seven-point Portugal lead with 4:39 left. Estonia took a one-point lead, Portugal scrambled to create a drive-and-kick three that Diogo Ventura missed and went back the other way for a three-point Estonia edge. Travante Williams rushed into the half court and lost the ball for what looked like the decisive turnover, before it bounced right back to him and the Portuguese cleared the way for Lisboa.
The son of Portuguese legend Carlos Lisboa carried the country to its signature win with a long range three and isolation possession on the following set that fouled out Treier and gave Portugal a one point edge. Only months earlier, Lisboa recovered from surgery on his partially torn meniscus.
Miguel Queiroz dislodged the ball from Kristian Kullamae needing one more stop, and moments later, Queta emerged from the locker room singing, dancing and celebrating with his teammates. They’ll face Dennis Schröder, Daniel Theis and undefeated Germany in the knockout round on Saturday at 8:15 EST.
“I’m your fan,” Queta posted in Portuguese from the locker room in Portuguese. Sou vosso fã.
