Slovenia have secured their place at the 2025 European Basketball Championship after defeating Portugal by a whisker at home for their third win in the qualifying Group A as Israel beat Ukraine to determine the top three teams to advance.

With two more games to spare, Slovenia and Israel are on top of their group with three defeats and a loss each, followed by Portugal in second with two wins and two defeats. Ukraine are winless at the bottom, which means they will not appear at the EuroBasket next year.

After a painful 74:82 defeat in Almada three days ago, Slovenia pulled off a 83:82 win in the return leg against Portugal in front of the home crowd in Koper on 25 November, having previously defeated Ukraine and Israel at home in February.

The home team were off to a good start, but were down five points by half-time. A robust defence allowed Slovenia to equalise and later create a gap in the final quarter. But Portugal caught up and took the lead again.

Just before the end, Slovenia managed to create a lead once again and win the match in free throws.

Slovenia's Klemen Prepelič was the best shooter of the match, scoring 31 points, including two decisive free throws.

Commenting on his record z 91st appearance on the national team, captain Edo Murić said he gave his best, taking responsibility at certain moments. "It didn't always work out, but I'm proud of the boys. Even when things didn't go well, we stuck together and weren't as nervous as usual."

"I am proud of the boys that we were able to pull out this important win from a losing position, but the game is not good. The problem is the rebounding, they had 14 offensive rebounds in the first half, which is too many with all due respect to Portugal," Prepelič commented.

"All in all, the defence was at a better level than in Portugal, but in attack we rely too much on individual quality. We are waiting for one player to make a difference. We all have to be active and try to attack," he added before the end of the game between Israel and Ukraine, which sealed Slovenia's spot at the next EuroBasket.

Head coach Aleksander Sekulić thanked the home crowd for the support. He believes the most important thing is they won the match and the optimism going forward. "We have some young people who show they will be the future of Slovenian basketball and of the national team," he said.

Slovenia have not missed a single European Basketball Championship since their debut in Germany in 1993.

In their 14 appearances to date, Slovenia reached the apex in 2017 by winning the EuroBasket title in Istanbul under the guidance of Serbian coach Igor Kokoškov, with captain Goran Dragić and teenager Luka Dončić on the court.

With Dallas Mavericks star Dončić and Goran Dragić on the squad at the last championship two years ago, Slovenia surprisingly lost to Poland in the quarter-finals to finish sixth overall.

As a EuroBasket host in 2013 Slovenia finished fifth after losing at the hands of France in the quarter-finals.