Croatia first from Third Round to book spot in Qualifiers; Switzerland, Albania eliminated
MUNICH (Germany) - Croatia were successful in advancing to the next phase, while there were also wins for Bulgaria, Kosovo and Romania on Gameday 4 of the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Pre-Qualifiers Third Round.
Croatia advanced to the Qualifiers after a comfortable 95-61 win against Ireland in Group G. Croatia had a balanced attack, as six players had at least 9 points and all but one player scored, led by Dario Dreznjak who finished with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists on 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range.
There was a wide advantage in bench points, as Croatia outscored Ireland 64-27 on the way to their 34-point victory.
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Bulgaria left no doubt, as they defeated Norway 91-69 wire-to-wire to move to 2-1, while Norway dropped to 1-2 in Group J.
Konstantin Kostadinov - 19 points and 9 rebounds - and Ivan Alipiev - 18 points and 4 rebounds off the bench - combined for 37 of Bulgaria's points. Codi Miller-Mcintyre, meanwhile, dished out 13 assists along with 7 points, 3 steals and 2 rebounds.
Bulgaria put the ball in the basket at an efficient rate, shooting 60 percent overall and 48 percent from three-point range, while Norway shot 44.4 and 31.8 percent, respectively.
The closest game of the day came from Group H in Kosovo's 76-72 nail-biter over Switzerland to eliminate them from contention. Switzerland were in front for 30 minutes, while Kosovo had the upper hand for merely 4 minutes and 20 seconds, but they led at the end when it mattered most.
Dominic Artis, who recorded a game-high 22 points along with 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals, knocked down two free-throws in the final seconds to put Kosovo up by two possessions and seal their four-point win. Drilon Hajrizi chipped in with 17 points and 8 rebounds and Dardan Berisha had 14 points off the bench.
In Group I, Romania improved to 2-1 and eliminated Albania from contention after defeating them 72-63. Bogdan Papa led all scorers with 17 points in only 17 minutes off the bench, shooting 5-of-7 from the field and 4-of-6 from three-point.
Dragos Diculescu just missed a double-double with 9 points and 9 rebounds and Mihai Maciuca added 14 points and 4 rebounds off the bench.
The action returns on August 2, as the remaining three spots to the 32-team field for the Qualifiers look to be filled.
FIBA
