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Italy had already secured qualification before the tip-off, but the game was a real battle for survival, decided by the young blood of both teams. When all was said and done, Italy got the 67-63 over Spain, which is in danger of ending the Eurobasket in two days. After this result, Italy is tied with Greece with a 3-1 record, which needs to beat Spain in the last round to secure the top spot in the Group C standings. If Spain loses to Greece and Bosnia beats Georgia, then Spain will finish 5th in the standings.
Georgia avoided a slip-up before their final decisive game against Bosnia and Herzegovina as they rolled past hosts Cyprus 93-61 for a second victory at FIBA EuroBasket 2025 thanks to a masterful performance by Tornike Shengelia and Goga Bitadze.
Jusuf Nurkic, Bosnia beat Greece with Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined
Greece has already qualified for the Eurobasket Round of 16. Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) and Giannoulis Larentzakis (back) were rested after sustaining minor injuries, and the game started with a 34-21 lead over Bosnia. In the end, however, Bosnia got its second win of the tournament with the final score being 80-77, and can also hope to qualify depending on the result on the last day of the tournament against Georgia.
Thanks to an amazing 18-0 run, Bosnia turned things around, led 39-34 two minutes before the end of halftime, and never looked back. Naturalized guard John Roberson, with 18 points, was the top scorer of the winners. Jusuf Nurkic also scored 18 points and had 10 rebounds, and Edin Atic also scored 15.
Christos Tsaltas: Asked Jusuf Nurkic if Giannis Antetokounmpo's absence changed the game plan for Bosnia. "It didn't change a lot. We had the same attachment on offense or defense. Regardless of who gonna play there, you have to have the same discipline. "#EuroBasket #GREBIH @athletiko_gr
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Simone Fontecchio drops 39 as Italy tops Bosnia in Eurobasket
Ira Winderman: Heat's Simone Fontecchio with a breakout performance for Italy in Sunday's 96-79 EuroBasket victory over Bosnia Herzegovina, closes with 39 points on 13 of 20, including 7 of 10 on 3s, and 8 rebounds. Heat's Larsson (Sweden), Jovic (Serbia) off today.
In the EuroBasket 2025 opener for Bosnia-Herzegovina, Jusuf Nurkic stood out with a team-high 18 points in a comfortable win, 91-64, versus Cyprus. The 31-year-old center of the Utah Jazz added six rebounds, two steals, one block, and one steal. “We kind of used the game for something to maybe trick people, but at the end of the day, it’s a good start and I feel great to get first off my chest,” he recapped the team effort to begin a five-game round-robin schedule in Limassol.
No minutes limitation for Giannis Antetokounmpo at the Eurobasket
Coach Vassilis Spanoulis was asked in the official pre-tournament press conference if his superstar must be protected and maybe not be used in some Eurobasket games, which might be easy for Greece, but important for their opponent, mainly Bosnia, and he clarified the situation: “Giannis can play as much as I want him to play, we are in the official games now and there’s no limitations any more”. Captain Kostas Papanikolaou also praised Giannis: “He is one of the top players in the world, he is amazing. His presence and the way he is treating his teammates, how approachable he is, that’s making him a good leader. He is reaching out to everybody, he is helping everyone, and he makes sure everyone knows what he has to do. He is more vocal compared to his first years in the national team. That makes the team function better”.
Mirza Teletovic on LeBron James: 'When no one wanted to sign me, he called my agent and offered me a contract with Cleveland'
Former Bosnia and Herzegovina captain Mirza Teletović opened up about a touching moment in his career when LeBron James stepped in to help during his darkest days. In 2015, after suffering a serious pulmonary embolism, Teletović found himself without a team and struggling to find anyone willing to take a chance on him due to health concerns. “Few people really know who King James is,” Teletović said. “After my pulmonary embolism, when no one wanted to sign me, he called my agent and offered me a contract with Cleveland.”
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Bosnia coach calls out Jusuf Nurkic: 'He's out of shape and can barely run'
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s prep games for the EuroBasket are going from bad to worse. In Sarajevo’s Skenderija arena, the national team suffered a convincing 102-90 defeat to Montenegro, who dominated from start to finish. Head coach Adis Beciragic made no attempt to hide his frustration after the game, pointing to glaring fitness problems among his players. “[Jusuf] Nurkic is out of shape and can barely run,” Beciragic said of the NBA center, who scored 15 points in his team's latest losing effort. “Xavier Castaneda is not training, he only started playing five-on-five two days ago. All that needs to be integrated into a team that has played together for two years.”
Nikola Vucevic scores 23 points as Montenegro defeats Bosnia and Herzegovina
Montenegro defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 102 – 90 to grab its first preparation win ahead of the EuroBasket. The game was held in the Mirza Delibašić hall in Sarajevo. Nikola Vucevic led five Montenegro players in double figures with 23 points. Jovan Klajcic had 16 points, Igor Drbonjak scored 14, Dordije Jovanovic posted 13 points and Marko Simonovic added 12 points. Dzanan Musa had 22 points for Bosnia. Aleksandar Lazic contributed 17 points and Jusuf Nurkic scored 15.
Jusuf Nurkic is returning to the senior national team of Bosnia-Herzegovina for a second EuroBasket appearance. After the end of the 2024-25 NBA Regular Season, he confirmed plans to suit up for his country in the EuroBasket 2025. “I’m looking forward to play,” the 30-year-old center of the Charlotte Hornets stressed in an end-of-season press conference on Monday, “We have a really good group of people and players. I really believe we can do special things there. We have a minimum of five games, and we go from there. We may start camp in July, and competition starts in August.”
Nurkic, a native of Bosnia, suddenly turned serious in addressing guns in the United States. "I still don't know why everybody have so many guns," Nurkic said. "Still don't understand it to this day because I feel the kids should be safer in our schools. Personally, when you see even fake guns, come up in social media and kids having it at school, I think it's a bad thing. Sometimes you can't control certain things with this media, all the social media platforms, but I think our kids, if we can secure them, the better the world going forward will definitely be without guns,'' he said.
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