Portugal’s U20 women’s basketball team faced a tough Sunday in Matosinhos. They suffered another defeat at the U20 European Championship. This time, Germany handed them an 83-72 loss. This followed their opening game defeat to defending champions France. It marked a difficult second day for the squad in Group B.
The Portuguese team started the game poorly. Germany quickly opened with a 14-2 run. This early surge made Portugal’s task much harder right from the tip-off. By halftime, Germany held a comfortable lead of 42-31. Portugal struggled to close the gap in the second half. They entered the fourth and final quarter trailing by a significant 17 points, with the score at 61-44.
Despite the big deficit, Portugal showed real fighting spirit. They never gave up. In the fourth quarter, they mounted an incredible comeback. The team managed to cut Germany’s lead to just four points, making the score 67-63. For a moment, it seemed like a stunning turnaround was possible. However, the German players found another gear. They accelerated their play again and ultimately secured their victory.
Individually, Inês Neto was a standout performer for Portugal. She finished with an impressive 20 points. Neto also grabbed 4 rebounds, dished out 4 assists, and blocked 2 shots. On the German side, Marianna Byvatov led her team in scoring with 15 points. Full game statistics are available through FIBA’s official match report.
Currently, the national U20 team sits at the bottom of Group B. They are in 4th place with 2 points. Their next challenge is set for Monday. They will face Slovenia, a team that also endured a heavy loss on Sunday. Slovenia fell 92-52 to the tournament favorite, France, in their second-day match.
