Jordan Loyd leads Poland to second straight EuroBasket quarter-final
Poland qualified for the EuroBasket quarter-finals by defeating Bosnia and Herzegovina 80-72 in a game played in Riga. This victory allows the 2022 semi-finalists to reach the European top 8 for the second consecutive time, a first since 1971.
A difficult start before Poland’s comeback
The game started poorly for Poland, who found themselves trailing 13-2 early on. Bosnia and Herzegovina maintained their double-digit lead (31-21) before seeing the Poles come back to 34-33. The Dragons were still ahead 44-40 at halftime and extended their lead to 55-47 in the third quarter.
The turning point came when Poland went on a 10-1 run to take their first lead of the night at 57-56. Igor Milicic’s team led 62-61 after 30 minutes of play, before making the difference in the final quarter with a decisive 11-2 run to lead 76-68 with four minutes remaining.
Jordan Loyd, hero of Poland’s qualification
Jordan Loyd was the main architect of this qualification by scoring 28 points on 8/17 shooting, including 3 three-pointers (on 7 attempts). The naturalized guard also contributed with 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block. His basket with 56 seconds remaining sealed Poland’s victory with a score of 80-72.
JORDAN LOYDOWSKI WITH THE DAGGER 🗡️#EuroBasket pic.twitter.com/Bu2HMvdgiY
— FIBA EuroBasket (@EuroBasket) September 7, 2025
Despite early struggles, captain Mateusz Ponitka provided valuable support with 19 points (but on 4/13 shooting), 11 rebounds, and 3 steals. For Bosnia, Jusuf Nurkic finished with 20 points and 7 rebounds, while John Roberson added 19 points before getting injured late in the game, apparently with a hamstring strain.
Meeting with undefeated Turkey
Poland’s dominance was particularly evident in offensive rebounding (16 boards) and drawing fouls (24/29 free throws compared to 11/20 for Bosnia). The Poles also better capitalized on opponent turnovers (19 points versus 12).
This qualification marks another step toward potentially repeating the 2022 feat when Poland reached the semi-finals for the first time since 1971. Milicic’s team will now face undefeated Turkey led by Alperen Sengun in the quarter-finals, a significant challenge to match their Berlin achievement from three years ago.
Commentaires