Celtics player Neemias Queta is set to play in the biggest European basketball tournament of the year, FIBA EuroBasket 2025, which is set to begin on Aug. 27.
While recent Boston signee Luka Garza was initially part of the Bosnia and Herzegovina roster, issues with FIBA may prevent the big man from participating in the tournament.
FIBA vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
The problem with FIBA and Bosnia and Herzegovina is the argument that Luka Garza is not a naturalized player due to his mother’s family being Bosnian.
FIBA allows each country to have one naturalized player on the roster. For example, reigning EuroBasket champions Spain were able to have American guard Lorenzo Brown on their roster, but everyone else had to have Spanish ties.
In the 2023 FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament, Garza was considered a naturalized player.
Basketnews.com goes more in-depth into the issue.
https://twitter.com/BasketNews_com/status/1934958460795539874
Garza’s Potential Impact on the Roster
If Garza is allowed to play, expect him to be one of the stars on the team alongside Jusuf Nurkic.
In the 2023 FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament, the 26-year-old averaged 12.4 points and 7.0 rebounds in five games.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has a real chance to advance past the group phase and into the Round of 16.
The country is in a group with Spain, Greece, Italy, Georgia and Cyprus. For Bosnia and Herzegovina to move on, the team must have a top-four record against the pack.
Spain, Greece and Italy are projected to cruise to the Round of 16, while the Bosnians have a great chance to get victories over Georgia and Cyprus.
It would be the first time that the country reached the round since 2013.
Queta is the Face of Portugal Men’s Basketball
Queta is expected to be the star of Portugal, a country that will be in EuroBasket for the first time since 2011.
This will only be the second time that the 26-year-old is playing for the senior national team, but he was phenomenal in the two games that he participated in.
In 2023, Queta averaged 18.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in the pair of matchups. Proving that he is the vocal point of the roster who does not have any other active NBA players.
https://twitter.com/PortalQueta/status/1951451605578162681
Portugal’s Difficult Path
Queta will be going against some of the best big men in the tournament. In three of Portugal’s five group phase games, they will take on Nikola Jokic (Serbia), Alperen Sengun (Turkey) and Kristaps Porzingis (Latvia).
It is not expected for Portugal to advance past the group phase, which also includes the Czech Republic and Estonia, but Queta will be the leader for the team.
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