The group stage for EuroBasket 2025 is over, and yes, predictions were true: Spain has been the biggest disappointment of the competition. Only three years after winning the title, Spain has been eliminated before the knockout phases for the first time this century. The only other two times that Spain didn't reach knockout was in 1959 and 1961, and since 1999, they've always left EuroBasket with a medal, except for the 2004 edition.
In order to move through round of 16, they had to defeat Greece, one of the favourites for the title, and they were losing the whole match, at one point, by 15 points.
The new, very young Spanish team, a squad still in construction (even the manager, Sergio Scariolo, will move after this game, as he has joined Real Madrid) didn't want to die without a fight, and they even managed to get ahead in the fourth quarter. However, an alarming lack of precision in the free shots ended up being fatal. The match ended 90-86.
Greece had much at stake, as a defeat against Spain would mean going through as fourth in the group, facing another favourite, France, in the round of 16, starting this Saturday.