FIBA WC Qualifiers results: Upsets for Greece and Lithuania, wins for Spain, France and Turkey

By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net

A total of 16 matches were played in the World Cup qualifiers, and all European national teams will now take a break until Monday, when they will face new duels.

The day was marked by the game-winning shots of Jordan Loyd, Sylvain Francisco and Elvar Fridriksson, victories of Turkey and Croatia in the two most exciting matches, as well as upsets for Greece and Lithuania.

Group A: Easy wins for Spain and Georgia

Spain was the first to secure a victory this Friday in the World Cup qualifiers, as they defeated Ukraine 86-66 on neutral ground in Riga.

Ferran Bassas and Alvaro Cardenas scored 16 points each, while Jaime Fernandez added 14. On the other side, Oleksandr Kovliar scored 15 points, and Dmytro Skapintsev had 10.

Georgia recorded their first victory in the qualifiers by defeating Denmark 89-71 on the road in the third round of group A.

Tornike Shengelia scored 24 points and was the best in his team, while Marcquise Reed added 18. For the home team, Tobias Brahe Jansen scored 15 points for Denmark.

Group B: Big surprise by Montenegro

Montenegro pulled off a surprise by defeating Greece 67-65 on the road.

The hosts had a shot to force overtime, but Vasileios Toliopoulos missed, allowing Montenegro to begin their celebration.

Zoran Nikolic scored 19 points, while Emir Hadzibegovic added 10. On the other side, Kostas Antetokounmpo scored 13 points, one more than Kostas Papanikolaou.

Portugal lived up to the role of favorites by defeating Romania 99-82 on their home court.

Diogo Brito scored 32 points, while Travante Williams added 25. On the other side, Nicolae Nicolescu scored 25.

Group C: Turkey prevails in Belgrade

Turkey, in one of the best matches of the evening in Belgrade, defeated Serbia 82-78.

The game was decided after a dramatic finish, with Tarik Biberovic making the decisive plays, continuing his excellent form.

He was the top scorer with 22 points, Cedi Osman added 16, while Serbia’s efforts were not enough despite Bogoljub Markovic scoring 19 points and Ognjen Dobric adding two fewer.

Bosnia and Herzegovina secured their first victory in the qualifiers with a triumph against Switzerland on their home court (84-60).

Adin Vrabac scored 15 points for his team, one more than Aleksandar Lazic. On the other side, Alex Schumacher scored 19 points, while Yasmin Mambo had ten points and ten rebounds.

Group D: Iceland upsets Lithuania

Italy secured their second consecutive victory in the qualifiers by easily defeating Great Britain in Newcastle (93-57).

Nico Mannion scored 19 points, while Amedeo Della Valle added 11. For the British team, only Carl Weathle reached double figures with 10 points.

One of the surprises of the evening was provided by Iceland, who defeated Lithuania 86-85 in front of their home fans.

The game-winning basket was scored by Elvar Fridriksson, who secured the victory for his team at the buzzer.

Fridriksson was by far the best with 34 points, while Tryggvi Linason added 12. For the visitors, Marek Blazevic scored 19 points, and Azuolas Tubelis added 13

Group E: Croatia wins a battle against Germany

Croatia, in a very engaging Group E match on their home court, defeated Germany 93-88, remaining unbeaten.

Dario Saric played for the national team and scored 23 points, two more than Mario Hezonja. For the visitors, David Kramer scored 22 points.

In the same group, Israel comfortably defeated Cyprus 94-54.

Yam Madar was clearly the top scorer with 22 points, while Cyprus was led by Filippos Tigkas with 12 points.

Group F: Loyd hits buzzer-beater

Netherlands defeated Austria on the road with a score of 81-71.

Keye Van Der Vuurst was outstanding with 25 points, while on the other side, Bogic Vujosevic scored 23.

In a very exciting match, Poland defeated Latvia 84-82 on the road.

The man of the moment was Jordan Loyd, who hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to secure the win for the visitors.

He was the standout performer with an impressive 37 points, while Mateusz Ponitka added 27. For Latvia, Arturs Strautins scored 27 points.

Group G: Francisco wins it for France in the last second

France secured an important victory by defeating Hungary 74-71 on the road.

The hero was Sylvain Francisco, who hit a three-pointer in the final second to secure the win for his team.

Amine Noua scored 15 points, Amath M’Baye had 13, and Francisco added ten. For the home team, Zoltan Perl led with 21 points.

A crucial victory in the fight for advancement to the next stage was achieved by Finland, who defeated Belgium on the road (71-66).

Olivier Nkamhoua scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while Mikael Jantunen added 15. For Belgium, Emmanuel Lecomte was by far the best with 20 points.

Group H: Important wins for Slovenia and Estonia

Slovenia secured their second win in the qualifiers by convincingly defeating the Czech Republic 99-59 on their home court.

Ziga Samar scored 19 points, while Gregor Hrovat added 17. On the other side, Tomas Kyzlink scored 18 points.

In the same group, Estonia defeated Sweden on the road, also achieving their third victory (88-77).

Henri Drell scored 23 points for the winning team, while Ludde Hakanson had 16 for the hosts

FIBA World Cup 2027 European Qualifiers

Group A

1. Spain 6 (3-0)
2. Ukraine 5 (2-1)
3. Georgia 4 (1-2)
4. Denmark 3 (0-3)

Ukraine – Spain 68-88
Denmark – Georgia 71-89

Group B

1. Portugal 5 (2-1)
2. Greece 5 (2-1)
3. Montenegro 5 (2-1)
4. Romania 3 (0-3)

Greece – Montenegro 65-67
Portugal – Romania 99-82

Group C

1. Turkiye 6 (3-0)
2. Serbia 5 (2-1)
3. Bosnia-Herzegovina 4 (1-2)
4. Switzerland 3 (0-3)

Serbia – Turkey 78-82
Bosnia-Herzegovina – Switzerland 84-60

Group D

1. Iceland 5 (2-1)
2. Italy 5 (2-1)
3. Lithuania 4 (1-2)
4. Great Britain 4 (1-2)

Great Britain – Italy 57-93
Iceland – Lithuania 86-85

 Group E

1. Croatia 6 (3-0)
2. Germany 5 (2-1)
3. Israel 4 (1-2)
4. Cyprus 3 (0-3)

Croatia – Germany 93-88
Israel – Cyprus 94-54