MUNICH (Germany) - Saturday's action in the Second Round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers saw another spot taken as Hungary were victorious.
Elsewhere, Switzerland and Austria missed out on their chance to secure qualification on Saturday as Ukraine, Bulgaria snatched up victories to further make things interesting in Groups D and F, respectively.
Hungary beat Romania to secure top-two spot
Hungary were the only team to secure qualification on Saturday after beating Romania 86-66. As Romania were already qualified, that solves the Group E equation and eliminates North Macedonia.
The first half in Szolnok was a close encounter with neither team pulling away. Hungary eventually broke through the barrier with a big third stanza in which they held Romania to just five points, whilst scoring 26 in the process and building a difference that was more than enough for an comfortable win.
Nate Reuvers led the home team with 25 points and 5 rebounds as Zoltan Perl added 16 points. Romania end their Second Round campaign with a 3-1 record as Emanuel Cate provided 14 points and 8 rebounds in the last game without relevance for them.
Switzerland miss out on punching ticket against Ukraine
We are still waiting on the first team qualified from the Group D as Switzerland were the only one with a chance of doing so coming into Saturday. However, Ukraine had different plans and grabbed a 73-64 success to record a second win.
There was little uncertainty in who will be victorious in this game as Ukraine started off strong and built an 18-point lead in the first quarter already. Switzerland never came back from, coming only as close as to four-point deficit in the third quarter. However, Ukraine managed that and got to a win.
Issuf Sanon provided 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for the winning side with Andrii Voinalovych adding 12, as Selim Fofana, Toni Rocak and Jamal George scored 11 apiece for the Swiss team.
Mladenov's big game gives Bulgaria lifeline
Austria had a chance to solve things in Group F and qualify themselves and the Netherlands with a win over Bulgaria. It didn't go that way as Borislav Mladenov played a big game and powered Bulgaria to an 87-78 success on home soil for their first win of the Second Round.
Bulgaria spent majority of the game in the lead, but seldom pulled further than six to eight points ahead. Austria's 8-0 run early in the fourth saw them claim the lead at 72-69 with 5:36 to play, but Bulgaria answered with 13 consecutive points in the last four minutes to put the game to the bed.
Mladenov was unstoppable with six made three-pointers for 30 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks. Konstantin Kostadinov added 15 points with Jakob Poeltl's double-double of 23 points and 13 rebounds going in vain for the losing side.
Croatia beat Norway by 49
Last game of the day saw Croatia cruise by Norway and win 102-53 in an encounter that was without high stakes. All was known in the Group G already with Croatia and Denmark securing Qualifiers spots and Norway being eliminated.
However, there was no relaxing for Croatia who started off strong, leading by 14 at the end of the first already and never took their foot off the gas. The difference began to flirt with a 50-point territory in the second half and stopped at 49 points for Croatia who now have to end the campaign against Denmark on Wednesday.
Mario Hezonja once again took the matter seriously with 21 points, whereas young center Michael Ruzic dominated the paint with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. David Skara added 13 as Milovan Savic tallied an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Daily Highs
Efficiency: Borislav Mladenov (BUL) - 33 Points: Borislav Mladenov (BUL) - 30 Rebounds: Jakob Poeltl (AUT) - 13 Assists: Daniel Friedrich (AUT) - 10 Steals: Toni Rocak (SUI) - 4 Blocks: Michael Ruzic (CRO) - 4
FIBA