SCHWECHAT (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Pre-Qualifiers) - Belarus, Estonia and the Netherlands will move into the eye of the hurricane on Saturday when they play in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Pre-Qualifiers for the first time. 

All 13 sides in the Pre-Qualifiers are aiming for top two finishes in their respective groups to clinch a spot in the World Cup Qualifiers, which get underway in November.

Belarus, Estonia and the Netherlands were idle on Wednesday when the first Pre-Qualifiers were played.

Schwechat is the city where the Dutch team has traveled to take on Austria, who claimed a 79-51 victory in their Group B opener at Albania.

The clash will be a rematch from last year's FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualification Round, with Toon van Helfteren's Netherlands falling at home 75-72 in the opener and then winning big in Austria, 75-61.

This time, the Dutch will have to contend with a more formidable front line of the Austria, one that has giant center Jakob Poltl.

The 21-year-old, selected ninth in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors, had 22 points in the triumph over the Albanians on Wednesday in Tirana and that, combined with Rasid Mahalbasic's 22, gave the Austrians a genuine one-two punch on the inside.

More significant for Austria coach Kestutis Kemzura than scoring numbers was how Austria locked in on defense.

Kemzura's Austria fell at home to the Netherlands last year

"We played a good game, especially on defense," he said. 

Both teams know that a tough fight awaits them on Saturday.

"We will have to play better than in Tirana," warned Austria point guard Thomas Klepeisz.

Netherlands were strong on the road last year, winning all three of their away games. This summer, they made headlines in the build-up to the Pre-Qualifiers with a scrappy performance against Italy in the Trentino Cup final.

The game was physical, with Italy's star Danilo Gallinari reacting to a shot to the neck by punching Dutch center Jito Kok in the face. Gallinari broke the first metacarpal on his right hand and is now out for FIBA EuroBasket, which begins later this month.

Van Helfteren, who had hoped his team would play at a FIBA EuroBasket for the second time in a row, instead has had to plan for the Pre-Qualifiers. He is desperate for the team to achieve a top-two finish.

"If we don't qualify, then we're out of international competition for the next two or three years," he said. "We are taking this very, very seriously."

Just as the Netherlands were able to watch their two opponents in Group B, Estonia were able to sit back and size up their Group C foes, Kosovo and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MKD).

In one of the big results of the night, Kosovo claimed a 72-68 victory - their first in official competition after going 0-6 last year in FIBA EuroBasket 2017 qualifying. More impressive than the result and the performance of Dardan Berisha was the crowd support. It will be a very difficult place to play for Estonia.

"Kosovo had the unwavering support from fans," the Macedonians' coach, Jordancho Davitkov, said.

The Macedonians need Jordan Theodore at his best against Estonia

The result has put the Macedonians into a situation where they believe they must win on Saturday. Davitkov, meanwhile, also said something else after his team's defeat that will not have gone unnoticed in Tallinn.

"I think Kosovo and Macedonia will go through to the Qualifiers for the World Cup," he said.

Estonia will have to contend with Jordan Theodore, whose play for Banvit this past season earned him the distinction as the Most Valuable Player of the Basketball Champions League. He poured in 22 points and handed out 6 assists for MKD in Prishtina.

Bulgaria have mixed emotions going into Saturday's home game against Belarus, their second game of the Pre-Qualifiers.

In Portugal on Wednesday, the team raced into a big lead in the first half but then seemed to lose its way in the second. Even so, Lyubomir Minchev's side still prevailed, 82-71, with Dee Bost, the team's naturalized point guard from America, pouring in 23 points. Bost, who is lightning-quick on the dribble, showed he has an accurate touch from long range by nailing 5-of-7 attempts.

It is the mental side of the game that coach Minchev is stressing ahead of the Belarus game.

"We have to keep our concentration for all 40 minutes," he warned.

The other two games on Saturday involve Group A, which has the only four-team pool.

Armenia are at home to Sweden in a battle of 1-0 teams while the Slovak Republic have to take on Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo in a clash of 0-1 sides.

The Mika Sport Complex in Yerevan has already proved to be a fortress for Armenia, who jumped out to a big lead against the Slovak Republic on Wednesday that propelled the team to a 75-61 triumph.

Now the opposition will be a Swedish side that showed some true battling qualities in an 81-73 home triumph over Bosnia and Herzegovina in Norrkoping. 

The Swedes trailed by six after three frames and looked to be in some trouble but made a series of big shots, including some by Marcus Eriksson who was 5-of-9 from the arc and scored 25 points.

FIBA