By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
The February European Qualifiers window is approaching its end (the last game day is Monday, February 28) and a total of four teams have made it through the second round: Lithuania, France, Georgia and Spain have qualified and will head into the June qualifiers window looking to defend their strong presence.
Lithuania overpowered Bosnia and Herzegovina from the get-go and with a 77-56 win in Vilnius, they ended their February obligations with a perfect 4-0 streak in Group F to qualify to the second round.
Tomas Dimsa led the efforts of the hosts with 19 points and Deividas Gailius added 15 points.
Edin Atic paced Bosnia and Herzegovina with 12 points, 7 rebounds, Amar Gegic and Kenan Kamenjas dropped 10 points apiece and Dzanan Musa added 7 points as the nation dropped to a 2-2 record.
France remained undefeated as they took down Portugal 69-56 on the road and remain on top of the Group E standings, also punching its ticket to the second round. Amath M’Baye poured 16 points for Les Bleus that managed to outrun their hosts in the second half after a tight contest in the first.
Sylvain Francisco added 15 points for Vincent Collet’s squad and Mathias Lessort was added to the list of top scorers with 10 points and six rebounds.
Rafael Lisboa led Portugal with 14 points and veteran Sasa Borovnjak posted 11 points and 7 rebounds.
David Vojvoda handed Hungary their first victory in the qualifiers after outlasting a tough battle against Montenegro on the road with an 88-84 victory. Vojvoda posted a game-high with 24 points on 8-11 FG along with 4 assists to call game for the visitors.
Justin Cobbs went off with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists for Montenegro, Vladimir Mihailovic added 18 points and Nemanja Radovic followed with 15 points. Prior to their Sunday meeting, Montenegro was undefeated.
Martin Peterka beat the buzzer to keep Czech Republic’s hopes alive, as the team beat Bulgaria 83-80 to register their first victory in the qualifiers.
Peterka finished the game with a double-double of 25 points, 10 rebounds, while Vojtech Hruban led all scorers of the game with 29 points.
Aleksandar Yanev led Bulgaria with 17 points, Stanimir Marinov tapped 16 points and Pavlin Ivanov had 14 points.
Thaddus McFadden erupted with 24 points to lift Georgia past North Macedonia with a hard-fought 79-65 victory on the road Sunday, to help the nation finish its February run strong in Group G and advance to the second round.
Giorgi Shermadini added 13 points and 8 rebounds for Georgia, while Merab Bokolishvili left the court with 11 points.
Nenad Dimitrijevic had a solid display with 25 points, 7 rebounds for North Macedonia, though his efforts failed to grant the nation their first win in the qualifiers. Vojdan Stojanovski added 13 points and Bojan Krstevski tapped 11 points and 8 rebounds.
Sunday action concluded in Bologna, with hosts Italy cruising to a 95-87 victory over Iceland thanks to a 26-point performance by Amadeo Della Valle.
Michele Vitali contributed 17 points for the winners and Nico Mannion stepped up with 16 and Meo Sacchetti’s squad bounced back to reach their second victory to remain alive in Group H.
Elvar Fridriksson posted 30 points for Iceland, Jon Axel Gudmundsson followed with 17 points and Tryggvi Hlinason had 14.
2023 FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers (first round) – February 27 results:
Group E
Portugal – France 56-69
Montenegro – Hungary 84-88
Standings
- France 6 (3-0)
- Montenegro 5 (2-1)
- Hungary (1-2)
- Portugal (0-3)
Group F
Czech Republic – Bulgarian 83-80
Lithuania – Bosnia and Herzegovina 77-65
Standings
- Lithuania 8 (4-0)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina 6 (2-2)
- Bulgaria 6 (2-2)
- Czech Republic 5 (1-3)
Group G
North Macedonia – Georgia 65-79
Standings
- Georgia 7 (3-1)
- Spain 6 (3-0)
- Ukraine 4 (1-2)
- North Macedonia 4 (0-4)
Group H
Italy – Iceland 95-87
Standings
- Russia 6 (3-0)
- Italy 6 (2-2)
- Iceland 6 (2-2)
- Netherlands 3 (0-3)
Photo credit: FIBA