By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The remaining national teams, split into eight groups, opened the Qualification Round on Thursday and Friday. Six countries advancing through the Pre-Qualifiers and 26 directly, including four hosts carrying automatic berths, competed in venues scattered across the continent.
Ricky Rubio’s return to action naturally emerged as the biggest highlight of Gameday 1, despite Spain being forced to a home loss in Zaragoza.
More upsets made things interesting from the top of the six-game double-legged round-robin schedules.
Qualifiers Gameday 1 Recap
Group A
Slovenia – Ukraine 87-73
Portugal – Israel 70-72
1. Slovenia 2 (1-0)
2. Israel 2 (1-0)
3. Portugal 1 (0-1)
4. Ukraine 1 (0-1)
Group B
Iceland – Hungary 70-65
Italy – Turkiye 87-80
1. Italy 2 (1-0)
2. Iceland 2 (1-0)
3. Hungary 1 (0-1)
4. Turkiye 1 (0-1)
Group C
Slovakia – Belgium 60-75
Spain – Latvia 75-79
1. Belgium 2 (1-0)
2. Latvia 2 (1-0)
3. Spain 1 (0-1)
4. Slovakia 1 (0-1)
Group D
Sweden – Bulgaria 84-70
Germany – Montenegro 85-61
1. Germany 2 (1-0)
2. Sweden 2 (1-0)
3. Montenegro 1 (0-1)
4. Bulgaria 1 (0-1)
Group E
Cyprus – Bosnia-Herzegovina 66-99
France – Croatia 73-61
1. Bosnia-Herzegovina 2 (1-0)
2. France 2 (1-0)
3. Croatia 1 (0-1)
4. Cyprus 1 (0-1)
Group F
Greece – Czechia 72-64
Great Britain – Netherlands 98-94
1. Greece 2 (1-0)
2. Great Britain 2 (1-0)
3. Netherlands 1 (0-1)
4. Czechia 1 (0-1)
Group G
Denmark – Georgia 75-69
Serbia – Finland 77-61
1. Serbia 2 (1-0)
2. Denmark 2 (1-0)
3. Georgia 1 (0-1)
4. Finland 1 (0-1)
Group H
Lithuania – Poland 83-64
North Macedonia – Estonia 69-74
1. Lithuania 2 (1-0)
2. Estonia 2 (1-0)
3. North Macedonia 1 (0-1)
4. Poland 1 (0-1)
-Three teams from each group advance to the 2025 EuroBasket, including hosts Cyprus, Finland, Latvia, and Poland
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL