Belarus next to book spot in the Qualifiers, Iceland bounce back for first win

MUNICH (Germany) - Belarus took the second spot through  from the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Pre-Qualifiers Second Round, while two teams picked up their first victories on Friday.

In the final game of Group D in Riga, Belarus ensured there were no late twists as they recorded a dominant 94-66 victory over Romania to clinch second place and their place in the Qualifiers.

Artsiom Parakhouski starred with 21 points on 10-of-11 from the field along with 11 rebounds with three other players in double figures, including Maksim Salash who added 19 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists.

Meanwhile, Portugal took the next step to joining Belarus and Latvia in the Qualifiers as they improved to 2-0 with an 83-74 victory over Luxembourg with 52 points coming from the bench.

Diogo Brito top-scored with 20 points with Joao Guerreiro adding 17 points as Portugal made a strong start to lead by as many as 27. Luxembourg's fightback was only enough to reduce their arrears to single figures, though points difference can prove crucial.

Switzerland were unable to claim a second win of their own as they fell to a 64-56 defeat against Slovakia, despite leading at half-time. Simon Krajcovic top scored with 16 points to help his side off to a winning start in Group F action, in Skopje.

The day's action concluded as Iceland put their opening loss behind them to record an 91-70 success against Denmark, who were making their first competitive appearance since their agonizing loss in the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 Qualifiers.

Elvar Fridriksson fired in 30 points to lead Iceland to victory as they used a 22-12 third period to pull away and repel a 27-point effort from Danish forward Daniel Mortensen.

FIBA