MIES (Switzerland) - The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Qualifiers started off in thrilling fashion with Iceland shocking Italy, Türkiye rising to the challenge and Serbia and Lithuania needing a miraculous comebacks.
The first 16 teams were in action throughout the continent on Thursday, while there are another eight games taking place on Friday.
Daily Highs
Efficiency: Stefan Miljenovic (SRB) - 32 Points: Oleksandr Kovliar (UKR) - 31 Rebounds: Viacheslav Bobrov (UKR) - 15 Assists: Kenan Sipahi (TUR) / Stefan Miljenovic (SRB) - 9 Steals: Diogo Brito (POR) / Alberto Diaz (ESP) / Akwasi Yeboah (GBR) - 4 Blocks: John Petrucelli (ITA) - 3
Sargiunas saves Lithuania with heave, Iceland shock Italy
Iceland pulled off a big upset to start their campaign by shocking Italy 81-76 on the road in Group D. Iceland built up a 10-point lead late in the third quarter but trailed in the final stanza. They reclaimed the lead on Elvar Fridriksson's three-point play with 65 seconds to make it 77-76. Fridriksson added four free throws in the final 13 seconds to lock up the win.
Fridriksson poured in 29 points and Tryggvi Hlinason contributed 16 points for Iceland. Davide Casarin led the way for Italy with 19 points, Gabriele Procida had 16 points and Amedeo Tessitori chipped in 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Iceland actually have a history with the Italians, winning their last matchup - just over a year ago also on the road with an 81-74 victory in the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers. Iceland also split their games in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers, winning 107-105 in a double overtime thriller at home in February 2022.
Meanwhile, Lithuania nearly suffered a similar fate, but Ignas Sargiunas saved the Baltic side with his late-game heroics, draining three three-pointers down the stretch to give the Baltic side an 89-88 victory at the buzzer after trailing by as many as 18 points.
Wheatle finished the game with 18 points, Myles Hesson had 17 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists and Akwasi Yeboah added 15 points for the winners. Lithuania were led by Ignas Sargiunas' 21 points with Gytis Radzevicius scoring 16 points and Velicka collecting 11 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists.
Türkiye rise to challenge, Serbia need massive comeback
Türkiye rose to the occasion in the second half to start their Group C campaign with an impressive 93-71 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Türkiye were given all they could handle for the first half and the lead was only one point early in the third quarter.
The FIBA EuroBasket 2025 runners-up opened some breathing room in the third quarter and pulled away in the final frame.
Tarik Biberovic had 20 points to lead the way, Sehmus Hazer scored 18 points and Kenan Sipahi tallied 12 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists. Amar Alibegovic top-scored for Bosnia and Herzegovina with 18 points.
Serbia barely survived a massive upset in the other Group C game, needing to rally from 23 points down to overcome Switzerland 90-86 at home. Serbia trailed 57-34 at halftime but then turned the game around and managed to prevail in the end.
Dusan Ristic had 24 points and Stefan Miljenovic flirted with a triple-double as he picked up 23 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists for the 2023 FIBA World Cup runners-up. Alexander Schumacher had 19 points in the upset attempt by the Swiss.
Samodurov steps up for Greece
A couple months after snapping their 16-year podium drought by taking third at the FIBA EuroBasket 2025, Greece proved too much for Romania in Group B. Hellas locked up a 91-64 victory at Nick Galis Hall in Thessaloniki by jumping ahead by double digits in the first quarter and never looking back.
Greece's 20-year-old star talent Samodurov, who contributed 4.9 points and 4.6 rebounds at EuroBasket 2025, shined in his first action in a FIBA Window with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals. Giannoulis Larentzakis scored a team-high 18 points with 4 three-pointers and debutant Elijah Mitrou-Long added 13 points and 6 assists in the win. Mihai Maciuca was Romania's top scorer with 13 points.
In the other Group B game, Portugal collected their first-ever win over Montenegro with an 83-62 road victory. Portugal, who this summer grabbed their first top 16 EuroBasket showing since 2007, pulled away with a 20-5 run to start the third quarter. And Mario Gomes' team did a good job not allowing Montenegro get close.
Travante Williams scored 16 points and Ricardo Monteiro picked up 13 points for Portugal, who had lost their only two matchups against Montenegro. Marko Simonovic tallied 13 points as the top scorer for Montenegro.
Kovliar's 31 points carry Ukraine past Georgia
Ukraine started their campaign with a strong performance on the road, knocking off Georgia 92-79 in Group A. Ukraine flipped the script in the third quarter with a 23-13 period and Ainars Bagatskis' side just kept rolling in the final frame.
Oleksandr Kovliar was out-of-this-world with 31 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists for Ukraine, who also had Viacheslav Bobrov collect 11 points and 15 rebounds. Duda Sanadze was the leading scorer for Georgia with 22 points.
It was an emotional night for Georgia with Giorgi Shermadini being honored beforehand in his last home game for his national team.
Spain opened a new era with Chus Mateo as head coach, and the two-time world champs avoided a slip-up in their Group A opener by getting past Denmark 74-64 on the road. After a tight first frame, Spain claimed control with a 20-10 second quarter to lead by 12 points at the break. And the Spaniards' quality was too high for Denmark to make a threat.
Jaime Fernandez paced Spain with 15 points and Great Osobor had 12 points and 8 rebounds in his national team debut. Denmark could not use Tobias Jensen's 20 points.
Results
Group A Georgia 79-92 Ukraine Denmark 64-74 Spain
Group B Greece 91-64 Romania Montenegro 62-83 Portugal
Group C Serbia 90-86 Switzerland Türkiye 93-71 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Group D Italy 76-81 Iceland Great Britain vs Lithuania (20:30 CET)
FIBA