By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The second day of the EuroBasket Qualifiers saved huge results and upsets, including a historic win for Switzerland over Serbia. Israel remained undefeated after a tough battle over Spain, while Russia and Poland enjoyed comfortable victories.
Check out the recap of Friday’s action here.
Group A
| GAMES | STREAK | GAME POINTS | POINTS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | P | W | L | % | Last 5 | For | Agt | +/- | FA | AA | |
| 1 | Israel | 3 | 3 | 0 | 100 |
|
257 | 221 | 36 | 85.7 | 73.7 | 6 |
| 2 | Poland | 3 | 2 | 1 | 66.7 |
|
242 | 205 | 37 | 80.7 | 68.3 | 5 |
| 3 | Spain | 3 | 1 | 2 | 33.3 |
|
240 | 246 | -6 | 80 | 82 | 4 |
| 4 | Romania | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
|
195 | 262 | -67 | 65 | 87.3 | 3 |
Romania – Poland 61-91
Israel – Spain 95-87
Poland crushed Romania through great teamwork and nearly perfect defense in the first half to reach its second victory. Michal Sokolowski was the leading scorer for Mike Taylor’s squad with 17 points, as Jaroslaw Zyskowski added 13 points. Kristopher Richard and Radu Virna led all Romanian scorers with 14 and 11 points respectively.
Tamir Blatt filled the statsheet in Israel’s victory over Spain with 21 points, 9 assists and two rebounds. Gal Mekel followed with 18 points, while Jake Cohen and Tomer Ginat added 17 points apiece as the nation keeps its undefeated streak in the qualifiers.
Quino Colom’s game-high performance with 24 points and five assists paced Spain, while Xavi Lopez-Arostegui had 13 points and Darío Brizuela posted 10 points.
Group B
| GAMES | STREAK | GAME POINTS | POINTS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | P | W | L | % | Last 5 | For | Agt | +/- | FA | AA | |
| 1 | Russia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 66.7 |
|
225 | 206 | 19 | 75 | 68.7 | 5 |
| 2 | Italy | 2 | 2 | 0 | 100 |
|
170 | 145 | 25 | 85 | 72.5 | 4 |
| 3 | Estonia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 33.3 |
|
218 | 243 | -25 | 72.7 | 81 | 4 |
| 4 | North Macedonia | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
|
139 | 158 | -19 | 69.5 | 79 | 2 |
Estonia – Russia 56-84
Russia enjoyed a comfortable win over Estonia to grab its second victory of the qualifiers. Evgenii Baburin paced all scorers for Sergey Bazarevich’s selection with 19 points, Andrey Vorontsevich posted 15 points and Mikhail Kulagin added 10.
Janari Joesaar and Rain Veiderman were the only players of the Estonian squad to finish the game in double digits with 10 and 10 points respectively.
The scheduled game between Italy and North Macedonia has been postponed to a later date, per FIBA’s announcement.
Group E
| GAMES | STREAK | GAME POINTS | POINTS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | P | W | L | % | Last 5 | For | Agt | +/- | FA | AA | |
| 1 | Georgia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 100 |
|
190 | 178 | 12 | 95 | 89 | 4 |
| 2 | Switzerland | 3 | 1 | 2 | 33.3 |
|
244 | 255 | -11 | 81.3 | 85 | 4 |
| 3 | Serbia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 33.3 |
|
260 | 244 | 16 | 86.7 | 81.3 | 4 |
| 4 | Finland | 2 | 1 | 1 | 50.0 |
|
127 | 144 | -17 | 63.5 | 72 | 3 |
Switzerland – Serbia 92-90
Finland – Georgia 85-91
Perhaps the most surprising result of the second day and arguably the biggest victory in Swiss basketball history. Dusan Mladjan handed Switzerland its first victory in the Qualifiers at the final buzzer and paced the winners with a 16-point performance.
Marko Mladjan posted a team-high of 18 points for the Swiss side. Dragan Apic and Danilo Andjusic both added 20 points for Serbia.
Giorgi Shermadini stepped up with a double-double performance with 27 points and 10 rebounds to pace Georgia to a comeback win over Finland. Tornike Shengelia added 19 points and 9 boards for the winners and Thad McFadden posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists.
Sasu Salin led all scorers of Finland with 22 points, Elias Valtonen tapped 13 points, while Shawn Huff and Jamar Wilson had 12 points each.
Group F
| GAMES | STREAK | GAME POINTS | POINTS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | P | W | L | % | Last 5 | For | Agt | +/- | FA | AA | |
| 1 | Slovenia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 66.7 |
|
244 | 228 | 16 | 81.3 | 76 | 5 |
| 2 | Hungary | 2 | 2 | 0 | 100 |
|
139 | 135 | 4 | 69.5 | 67.5 | 4 |
| 3 | Ukraine | 3 | 1 | 2 | 33.3 |
|
221 | 219 | 2 | 73.7 | 73 | 4 |
| 4 | Austria | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
|
151 | 173 | -22 | 75.5 | 86.5 | 2 |
Slovenia – Ukraine 84-73
Jaka Blazic took on star duties against Ukraine to pace Slovenia to the win while posting with double-double figures, as he finished the game with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan Morgan tapped 13 points and 11 rebounds for the winners, while Luka Rupnik contributed 12 points and 7 assists.
Ukraine didn’t go down without a fight, as Volodymyr Herun led Ainars Bagatskis’ squad with 15 points, Anatoliy Shundel had 14 points and Issuf Sanon posted 13 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
The scheduled game between Austria and Hungary has been postponed to a later date, FIBA announced Thursday.
Photo: FIBA