Check out the EuroLeague players who shined in FIBA play on Thursday night (PHOTO: FIBA)
Continental Qualifiers roundup: Vezenkov, Bonga among those who shined
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EuroBasket Qualifiers 2025
Hungary 87-78 Iceland
Martin Hermannsson had a brilliant performance for Iceland with a joint game-high 25 points, but it wasn’t enough as Iceland fell to defeat. The ALBA Berlin guard also amassed 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 block.
Despite Iceland's defeat, it remains in pole position to reach EuroBasket 2025 as it sits third in Group B with a 2-3 record, but a defeat against Turkiye in the final game could see Hungary steal it at the last after securing the head-to-head advantage with its nine-point victory on Thursday.
Turkiye 67-80 Italy
This game featured 13 EuroLeague players on the court – five for Turkiye and eight for Italy – and one EuroLeague head coach on the sidelines in Ergin Ataman, yet it was the Italians who came out on top.
All five of Italy’s double-digit scorers ply their trade in the EuroLeague, with EA7 Emporio Armani Milan’s Giordano Bortolani netting 16 points, ALBA duo Matteo Spagnolo and Gabriele Procida adding 14 and 12 points separately and Virtus Segafredo Bologna pair Alessandro Pajola and Nicola Akele pouring in 12 and 11 points respectively. The other Italian EuroLeague players in action were Virtus's Momo Diouf (8 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block), Milan's Guglielmo Caruso (4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block), and FC Barcelona’s Dame Sarr (2 points).
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens play-caller Ataman saw Cedi Osman, his forward on the Greens, finished with 16 points, while FC Bayern Munich’s Onuralp Bitim had 13. Anadolu Efes Istanbul's trio Shane Larkin (4 points), Ercan Osmani (3) and Erkan Yilmaz (2) could only combine for 9 points.
Both teams have already qualified for EuroBasket 2025, with Italy top of Group B with a 4-1 record and Turkiye in second at 3-2.
Latvia 83-66 Spain
Virtus forward Andrejs Grazulis may have scored just 4 points, but he did have a big impact on Latvia’s win by posting 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. For Spain, Real Madrid’s Hugo Gonzalez had 11 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block, and Barcelona's Joel Parra recorded 5 points and 5 rebounds.
Both Latvia and Spain have already booked their tickets for EuroBasket 2025, with Latvia in first place at 5-0 and Spain in third at 2-3.
Bulgaria 81-77 Sweden
There was no stopping Olympiacos Piraeus’s Sasha Vezenkov, who put up a monster stat line of 40 points, 18 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a 49 PER as Bulgaria grabbed a crucial victory in overtime to avoid elimination. He was helped by Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade’s Codi Miller-McIntyre, who dished 9 assists, scored 7 points and grabbed 5 rebounds.
Bulgaria heads into the final round against the 3-2 Germany knowing that only a win will suffice as it sits bottom of Group D with a 2-3 record. It did beat the reigning FIBA World Cup champion by five points in the second round, but Sweden in third, also 2-3, holds the head-to-head advantage after beating Bulgaria by 14 in the first round. The 3-2 Montenegro also beat Bulgaria in both of their matchups.
Montenegro 76-95 Germany
Eight EuroLeague players took to the floor for Germany, the reigning FIBA World Cup champion, in what was an important triumph for the nation. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade’s Isaac Bonga scored 13 points, Bayern’s Andreas Obst, Johannes Voigtmann and Justus Hollatz chipped in with 9, 8 and 4 points apiece, and ALBA quartet Tim Schneider (6 points), Louis Olinde (5), Jonas Mattisseck (2) and Malte Delow (1) contributed a combined 14 points.
Neither Montenegro nor Germany have yet sealed their place at EuroBasket 2025, but they are tied for the best record in Group D at 3-2. A win for Germany at home to Bulgaria and a victory for Montenegro in Sweden would see them both advance; even a loss to Sweden would be enough to move on, so long as Germany beat Bulgaria.
AmeriCup 2025 Qualifiers
Venezuela 67-64 Argentina
Real Madrid playmaker Facundo Campazzo posted 7 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists as Argentina were defeated. Despite losing, reigning AmeriCup champion Argentina has secured its ticket for the 2025 tournament.
Puerto Rico 71-72 USA
Baskonia sharpshooter Markus Howard showed out on his Puerto Rico debut, scoring a game-high 17 points and also contributing 5 rebounds and 1 assist as his nation came close to defeating the USA, which booked its ticket for AmeriCup 2025 with this win.
Colombia 97-91 Chile
Paris Basketball guard and Chile captain Sebastian Herrera netted 25 points, in addition to recording 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, but it came in defeat.
Bahamas 97-74 Cuba
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv big man and Cuba captain Jasiel Rivero amassed 15 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist as his team fell to a heavy defeat against the Bahamas.
FIBA World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers
Norway 68-59 Luxembourg
ALBA’s 18-year-old forward Dorian Grosber finished with 8 points, 1 rebound and 1 steal for Luxembourg, but it came in defeat.
Kosovo 81-79 Azerbaijan
Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz big man Donta Hall gave his all for Azerbaijan but ended up doing so in a losing effort, as he posted a 21-point, 16-rebound double-double, in addition to 2 assists and 1 block.