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Three Celtics took the court across Europe Monday as the fourth window of 2027 FIBA World Cup qualifying came to a close, with Neemias Queta delivering the standout performance of the group.
In three second-round matchups, Queta and Portugal hosted Georgia, Luka Garza and Bosnia and Herzegovina visited Lithuania, and Hugo Gonzalez and Spain took visited Greece.
Queta turned in a dominant two-way effort with 20 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, four blocks and a steal in just under 30 minutes. He led Portugal in scoring, rebounding, and shot-blocking during a 98-90 loss to Georgia while shooting 8-of-9 from inside the 3-point arc, picking up where he left off after setting the Celtics’ franchise record for single-season field-goal percentage.
The 7-foot center also turned in several impressive defensive plays around the rim in front of his home-country crowd. One block in particular stood out, when he began the possession as the defender farthest from the basket before sprinting into the play and denying what appeared to be an easy Georgia put-back layup at the rim.
It marked Queta’s second straight strong showing during the qualifying window. He also logged 16 points, nine rebounds, and two steals Friday as Portugal pulled off an upset win over Gonzalez and Spain.
Garza delivered an efficient performance as well, nearing a double-double despite playing fewer than 20 minutes in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s 78-73 loss to Lithuania.
The Celtics big man recorded 14 points and seven rebounds in just 17 minutes of action while shooting 50 percent from both inside and outside the 3-point arc. He also posted a team-best plus-2 rating despite the five-point defeat.
Garza has put up impressive numbers throughout World Cup qualifying, averaging 16.8 points and 7.3 rebounds across four appearances. Even more notable is the limited time in which he’s produced those numbers, averaging just 18.9 minutes per game.
Gonzalez didn’t get as much opportunity as Garza and Queta after running into early foul trouble in Athens. The Celtics wing picked up three fouls in his first seven minutes and was ultimately limited to 11 minutes during Spain’s 108-106 overtime loss to Greece.
Gonzalez finished with four points, three rebounds, one assist, and one block. His lone field goal was a pretty one, as Juancho Hernangomez found him with a pinpoint pass in transition for a fast-break layup.
Through four World Cup qualifying appearances, Gonzalez is averaging 8.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.0 steals in 20.0 minutes per game.
Despite Spain’s recent losses, it remains atop European Qualifier Group I with a 5-3 record. Portugal sits fourth in the same group at 4-4, while Bosnia and Herzegovina is fifth in Group J at 3-5.
With Window 4 now complete, 2027 World Cup qualifying will resume with Window 5 in November. Queta, Garza, and Gonzalez won’t be along for that portion of the journey, however, as the three Celtics will be back stateside with the NBA regular season underway.
A fourth Celtic, Amari Williams, also competed this past week in Europe as part of the 2029 FIBA Eurobasket pre-qualifiers. The 7-foot center appeared in two games for Great Britain, totaling 10 points 16 rebounds, eight assists, one steal, and one block, helping to lift his team to a 110-75 win over Switzerland and a 97-72 win over Slovakia.