MUNICH (Germany) – November's international window was undoubtedly one to remember, and there were some big performances from those playing in FIBA Europe Cup for their respective countries.
Let’s delve into nine players that stood out, and you can pick your favorite from the selection in the vote below.
Santi Yusta - Spain
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Birth Date: 28 April 1997 (27 years old) Height: 198cm / 6'6" Club: Casademont Zaragoza
Stats: 12.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.3 APG – 13.3 EFF
FIBA EuroBasket champions Spain will defend their crown at next year’s tournament, but they were given a scare by Slovakia, who took them to double-overtime in the opener. Santi Yusta remained calm, hitting four triples - including one in a miraculous ending to regulation - for his 21 points, and he secured a double-double with 10 boards in the 76-72 win. The Casademont Zaragoza man followed that up with 25 points and 5 steals in an 84-71 victory.
Trae Bell-Haynes - Canada
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Birth Date: 5 Sep 1995 (29 years old) Height: 188cm / 6'2" Club: Casademont Zaragoza
Stats: 13.8 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 6.8 APG - 16.3 EFF
It was a successful window for Casademont Zaragoza’s Trae Bell-Haynes for Canada in the FIBA AmeriCup 2025 Qualifiers. He dished out 10 assists and scored 8 points in his side’s 88-71 win over Dominican Republic before a team-high 20 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists in an 83-73 success over Mexico.
Bell-Haynes' teammate Marco Spissu had 10 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists in the Italian win over Iceland, followed by 5 points and 6 assists in the return leg. In contrast, Bojan Dubljevic scored 9 points and pulled down 8 rebounds, along with 12 points and 7 rebounds in Montenegro's two wins over Bulgaria.
Kristers Zoriks - Latvia
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Birth Date: 25 May 1998 (28 years old) Height: 193cm / 6'4" Club: ESSM Le Portel
Stats: 13.3 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 3.3 APG – 12.5 EFF
ESSM Le Portel standout Kristers Zoriks was involved in two physical and hard-fought games against Belgium, posting team-highs of 22 points and 8 assists in a narrow 75-72 win over Belgium in Riga, followed by 17 points and 5 assists in an 85-83 win in the return game in Charleroi.
Michal Michalak - Poland
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Birth Date: 2 Nov 1993 (31 years old) Height: 197cm / 6'6" Club: Anwil Wloclawek
Stats: 10.7 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.8 APG – 10.8 EFF
Michal Michalak helped Poland secure their first win of the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers as his game-high 29 points from 10-of-13 shooting guided them to victory. However, despite the home comforts of playing on his court in Wloclawek, his 10 points were not enough, as Estonia sneaked home with the win.
Kristian Kullamae - Estonia
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Birth Date: 25 May 1999 (27 years old) Height: 193cm / 6'4" Club: Bilbao Basket
Stats: 11.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 4.1 APG – 13.8 EFF
Bilbao Basket guard Kristian Kullamae posted a double-double for Estonia in the opening game of their two fixtures against Poland, scoring 13 points and dishing out 11 assists in his side’s 82-78 win in Wloclawek. Kullamae did drain a triple on the buzzer in the return leg in Tallinn, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Poles, who took it 88-86. Kullamae had a team-high 21 points and 6 assists.
Elvar Fridriksson - Iceland
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Birth Date: 11 Nov 1994 (27 years old) Height: 183cm / 6'0" Club: Maroussi BC
Stats: 12.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 7.1 APG – 14.5 EFF
Elvar Fridriksson helped Iceland to split their two games in November’s window against Italy, going a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line and 4-for-11 from the field for his 15 points and 4 assists in the opening game, a 95-71 defeat in Reykjavik before adding 15 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists in the 81-74 road win.
Eimantas Bendzius - Lithuania
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Birth Date: 23 April 1990 (34 years old) Height: 207cm / 6'9" Club: Banco di Sardegna Sassari
Stats: 10.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.7 APG – 13.7 EFF
Lithuania secured their spot in next year’s FIBA EuroBasket thanks to two wins over North Macedonia, and Eimantas Bendzius played an important role. The Banco di Sardegna Sassari veteran registered 8 points in an 82-67 success before finding his rhythm in the return leg, shooting 5-of-8 from the floor to hit 15 points and pull down 7 rebounds in their 94-72 win in Klaipeda.
Melwin Pantzar - Sweden
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Birth Date: 10 April 2000 (24 years old) Height: 188cm / 6'2" Club: Bilbao Basket
Stats: 10.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.0 BPG - 15.0 EFF
Melwin Pantzar lifted Sweden to a crucial win over the reigning FIBA Basketball World Cup champions Germany to start the window. The Bilbao man scored 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting with 3 assists thrown in as the Swedes won 73-72. The Germans got their revenge though, winning the return encounter 80-61, as Pantzar got 14 points on 5-of-10 from the field and dished out 5 assists.
His Bilbao colleague, Tryggvi Hlinason, suited up for Iceland during their two games against Italy and had 15 points and 8 rebounds in the loss at home but struggled on the road with just 3 points despite the win.
Travante Williams - Portugal
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Birth Date: 29 Jul 1993 (31 years old) Height: 197cm / 6'6" Club: CSM CSU Oradea
Stats: 7.7 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 4.7 APG – 10.2 EFF
Portugal pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers, as Travante Williams had 12 points and 7 rebounds in an 82-74 win over 2017 winners Slovenia. The CSM CSU Oradea forward nearly made it an incredible two wins out of two, but his potential game-winning triple missed the mark for a heartbreaking 83-82 loss. Williams had 17 points in 20 minutes.
FC Porto’s Miguel Queiroz had a double-double of 13 points and 13 assists in the loss as well as 2 points and 7 rebounds in the landmark victory.
Meanwhile, Williams' Oradea teammate Kris Richard helped Romania to win a pair of games away from home in the FIBA World Cup 2027 Pre-Qualifiers - posting 14 points in the 75-62 win over Norway, before firing 26 points as they defeated Luxembourg 84-78.
Bilbao's Harold Frey starred for Norway in the Pre-Qualifiers, leading all scorers with 21 points and 5 assists in the loss to Romania, while Jonathan Kazadi of Fribourg was in action for Switzerland in the Pre-Qualifiers, as his 14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals propelled them to a 75-43 win over Kosovo.
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