EuroBasket Daily Preview: Four Teams Already Qualified, Doncic Faces Belgium Seeking First Win

On August 31st Beijing time, the EuroBasket group stage proceeds, and currently four teams (all undefeated at 3-0) have advanced to the last 16: Serbia, Turkey, Germany, and Finland. The other teams will battle for the remaining places—

August 31st, 20:00: Slovenia vs Belgium

Slovenia lost their first two group matches against Poland and France, respectively, and now face a crucial game against Belgium—this match is a must-win if they want to progress to the next round. In the first two games, Doncic has averaged 36.5 points per game and displayed excellent free-throw shooting, making 36 of 38 attempts. However, the rest of the team lacks the strength to compete with the tournament’s top contenders. Fortunately for Slovenia, Belgium is not among the elite teams, making this a prime opportunity for Slovenia to claim their first victory.

Since 2011, Belgium has been a regular participant in EuroBasket but has never achieved notable success. In the group stage’s opening round, they unsurprisingly lost to the strongest team in the group, France; in the second round against the weakest team on paper, Iceland, Belgium mounted a strong comeback in the final quarter to secure a win, keeping their hopes alive for advancing.

In the three previous direct encounters between the two teams, Slovenia has won two matches.

August 31st, 20:00: Georgia vs Greece

Georgia performed well in their group opener against Spain, securing a victory, but failed to replicate that form in the second round, losing to Italy. During the match against Italy, Shengelia clashed with the referees, receiving a second technical foul and was ejected from the game.

Greece defeated Italy in their first group game and then comfortably beat Cyprus 96-69 in the second. Notably, Giannis Antetokounmpo did not play in the Cyprus game as the team rested him to ensure he is fully prepared for the final three group matches.

Up to now, Georgia and Greece have met four times, with Greece maintaining a perfect record. Their most recent meeting in a major tournament was at EuroBasket 2015, where Greece won 79-68 over Georgia.

August 31st, 23:00: Israel vs France

After beating Iceland in their group opener, Israel missed a great chance to secure a second EuroBasket win, narrowly losing to Poland. In the final moments, Poland’s Lloyd completed a put-back that almost won the game.

France pulled off a 103-95 comeback victory against Slovenia in their last match. Francisco was the hero, delivering arguably the best performance of his career with 32 points and 7 rebounds. Unfortunately, his remarkable game ended controversially when he chose to score a layup in the final seconds after players had begun shaking hands.

Historically, the two teams have met seven times in EuroBasket, with France leading 5-2 and currently holding a five-game winning streak over Israel.

August 31st, 23:15: Spain vs Cyprus

Spain started the EuroBasket poorly, suffering a heavy 69-83 loss to Georgia in their first group match. However, they bounced back strongly in the second game against Bosnia and Herzegovina, cruising to an 88-67 win.

Cyprus lost heavily to Bosnia and Herzegovina in their group opener, and their situation did not improve in the second game. Despite some moments of positive play, they were defeated 69-96 by Greece and currently stand at 0-2 in the group. Clearly, they would need a miracle to claim a win.

Spain and Cyprus have never faced each other before.

September 1st, 02:30: Poland vs Iceland

Poland defeated Slovenia in their group opener and then beat Israel in their second game. They are likely to push for a higher group ranking to secure a more favorable matchup in the knockout stage. Poland finished fourth in the last EuroBasket, showing strong competitiveness. Naturalized player Lloyd has scored 59 points across two games, including 12 three-pointers, showing good form.

Iceland lost their first game to Israel and collapsed in the final six minutes against Belgium in the second match, missing a chance to win.

In their only previous direct encounter, Poland emerged victorious.

September 1st, 02:30: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Italy

Bosnia and Herzegovina suffered a heavy defeat against Spain in their last game, losing 67-88 and being dominated throughout.

After losing their group opener, Italy quickly rebounded by defeating Georgia 78-62, responding positively. Although the final score shows a clear margin, the game was closely contested for nearly 25 minutes. Italy enters their third-round match against Bosnia and Herzegovina with good morale.

In their four previous meetings, Italy has won every time, although their last encounter was over twenty years ago.