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Boston Celtics teammates Neemias Queta and Hugo González sat on opposing benches during Friday’s Portugal vs. Spain FIBA World Cup Qualifying matchup.
Queta, who began his professional career with Benfica in the Portuguese Basketball League, and González, who debuted with Real Madrid in Spain at just 16 years old, took the floor as foes in Portugal’s 95-89 victory.
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For Queta, the qualifier was a stage to showcase his incoming leap after signing a four-year, $56 million extension with the Celtics this summer. The 27-year-old scored 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting with nine rebounds and two steals in over 24 minutes, assisting Portugal en route to its nail-biting upset. Queta grabbed five offensive boards and repeatedly outmatched Spain’s bigs with speed and strength.
In the fourth quarter, Queta secured his most notable highlight by baiting Spain’s Aday Mara with a pump-fake three, spinning past Mara and flushing a thunderous right-handed dunk to break a 71-71 tie. That sparked a 7-0 run from Portugal, forcing Spain to take a timeout with 7:55 left in regulation.
González, nearly matching Queta with more than 23 minutes on the court, struggled offensively. He finished with only three points, knocking down just one of four 3-point attempts. Yet, in typical Hugo fashion, González found alternative ways to remain impactful for Spain, including a fourth-quarter lob deflection that prevented Portugal from taking an 84-76 lead with less than six minutes remaining. González stayed composed and rose for a second consecutive contest after Portugal secured the offensive rebound, keeping the deficit at six points.
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Queta’s dominance was too much for Spain to bridge, leaving a beneficial impression with over seven weeks left until Boston’s regular-season opener on Oct. 20.
Last season, Queta inherited his biggest role yet and debuted as the Celtics’ starting center after the team parted ways with Kristaps Porziņģis, Al Horford and Luke Kornet. With the spotlight on him, Queta repaid the C’s with a career-best breakout, averaging 10.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks across 75 starts — all…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/queta-vs-gonz-lez-boston-232311018.html
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Publish date : 2026-08-28 23:23:00
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