The Ball – Portugal is ready to battle and prove its worth (Basketball)

The national team will return, Wednesday, to the Gliwice Arena, for the third and final match of the second group of the Olympic qualifiers, against its host Poland, determined to win the “big battle” to reach the semi-finals and prove it. This “has value for these competitions”, in the words of Sporting fan Diogo Ventura.

In Group B, all teams still have the possibility of qualifying for the semi-finals of the tournament, which is the next stage. Poland is still invincible in two matches, and it leads with four points and is the favorite against Portugal, which is tied with three points with Bosnia and Herzegovina, followed by Hungary with two points and still without any wins.

The Portuguese know that the Poles are considered “favorites, even if they are in their home country”, as stated by the national coach, Mario Gomez, but they intend to contradict this situation. “I will ask the players as always – to focus on what we can do and try to abstract from the factors that we have no control over. In all games, we have a set of four goals related to the different statistical elements in the game. Usually, to achieving three of these goals, we are close It is very important to win matches,” the coach defended.

Sports supporter Diogo Ventura (pictured above) included the group’s “motivation” to try to “promote Portuguese basketball”. He emphasized, “We have trained and polished the last details. It’s time to rest so we can be ready for the big battle. This team loves to play on these stages, in these pavilions and the more people, the better. A lot of people think we still don’t have the value of these competitions, but we do. We have proven that in the last few matches.”

Although he relies on his own performance to ensure a pre-qualifier semi-final, Portugal’s accounts given by the Confederation include the remaining opponents. If Bosnia and Herzegovina beat Hungary, then Portugal must defeat Poland by ten or more points, to immediately guarantee the semi-finals. If Hungary and Portugal win, the team will also qualify. If Hungary wins and Portugal loses, Mario Gomez players can still reach the semi-finals if the Hungarian win sits between seven and 14 points. Advancing by less than seven points puts Bosnia and Herzegovina into the next round. Hungary’s progress of more than 14 points guarantees qualification.

The national team started by losing to Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a score of 75-84, and achieved its first victory against Hungary, with a score of 86-74. Mario Gomez lamented that factors outside the players prevented Portugal from immediately asserting themselves. The national coach stressed, “The fact that if the previous two matches were decided by who will decide them on the field, who are the players, at this moment we have qualified for the next stage.”