Switzerland were beaten 84-53 by Croatia in their second pre-qualifying match for EuroBasket 2025. Ilias Papatheodorou’s men never matched a Croatian team a cut above .
In Opatija, the Helvetians found no solution to the problem posed by Karlo Matkovic. The 21-year-old strong winger martyred the Swiss racket by scoring 17 points in the 1st half and grabbing 8 rebounds including 5 offensive. The Croats also more than dominated the Swiss inside with a 45-23 rebound.
Pulling quickly from behind, the Swiss then tried to come back with baskets from distance, but their address was not there with a 4/25 from 3 points and only 37.29% shooting. It was finally Selim Fofana who finished top scorer on the Swiss side with 10 points, the only one to have reached this bar.
The Helvetians move to 3rd place in the group behind Poland who crushed Austria 91-55. For its next match, on November 10, Switzerland will go to Poland.
ats/pc