MUNICH (Germany) - The countdown is on for the tip-off of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Qualifiers. With that in mind, we've gone back to the Qualifiers for the 2023 showcase and picked out some of the most magical moments.
There were so many great memories and it was very difficult to select just five. That bodes well for the upcoming Qualifiers which start on November 27 and will undoubtedly keep fans thrilled over the next 15 months.
Wemby makes France debut
The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers will forever be remembered for Victor Wembanyama making his debut for France's senior national team. That came on November 11, 2022, when he totalled 20 points and 9 rebounds against Lithuania. Three days later, he collected 19 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks versus Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Wembanyama drove international basketball wild three months later in the February 2023 window with two more outstanding performances. Just a couple of weeks after turning 19, he destroyed Czechia with a monster double-double of 22 points and 17 rebounds while also chipping in 4 steals and 6 blocks. The six blocks tied for a European Qualifiers record. Wembanyama finished the window with 15 points, 3 rebounds and 3 blocks against Lithuania.
Those would be the last games for Wembanyama until he starred for hosts France at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, where he took his production to another level on the big stage.
Giannis drops 40 in epic showdown with Jokic
One of the greatest games of the 2023 Qualifiers could also be argued was one of the greatest all-time games in FIBA basketball with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic putting on a show for the ages in front of a record crowd of 19,150 fans in Belgrade in August 2022.
Playing his first official game for Greece since the FIBA World Cup 2019, Antetokounmpo scored a World Cup European Qualifiers record 40 points as he shot 14 of 25 from the floor to go along with 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Those numbers were for naught though as Greece were defeated by Jokic's Serbia in a 100-94 overtime thriller.
Jokic, who was coming off back-to-back MVP campaigns in the NBA, had a great performance of his own for the winners with 29 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists in the Second Round game.
The previous scoring record in the World Cup European Qualifiers had been set earlier in the summer by Dennis Schroder with the German guard pouring in 38 points during the First Round in a win against Poland.
Latvia, Georgia book first World Cup tickets
History was made in the 2023 qualification campaign as both Latvia and Georgia booked tickets to the FIBA World Cup for the first time.
Latvia drove their fans into a real frenzy en route to the World Cup as they first needed to go through the Pre-Qualifiers. After reaching the main qualification field, they gave Serbia all they could handle but lost their opening game 101-100.
Latvia would not lose again the rest of the Qualifiers, reeling off 11 consecutive victories including the return game against Serbia and two each over Greece and Türkiye.
Another country of red and white fans were celebrating from November 2021 to February 2023 with Georgia making history of their own by locking up their first FIBA World Cup berth.
Georgia's biggest highlight of the First Round stage was an 82-76 overtime victory at home over Spain. Two losses to Italy and two wins over Netherlands meant it would all come down to the two games against Iceland in terms of which nation would reach the FIBA World Cup for the first time.
Georgia registered an 88-85 victory in Iceland in November 2022 and had the superior goal differential in the group going into the final game of the qualification at home against Iceland. A crowd of 10,000 fans at the Tbilisi Sports Palace were on pins and needles throughout as their heroes could afford a loss by three points and still make history.
And that is exactly what happened as Georgia survived with an 80-77 victory to send their red and white fans into a frenzy of their own.
The Mountain vs Italy
The 2023 qualification campaign also featured Tryggvi Hlinason doing his best Superman impression in helping Iceland shock Italy 107-105 in double overtime - their first win over Italy to inject major life into their FIBA World Cup hopes.
The fans in Hafnarfjordur saw the Icelandic mountain in the middle put together a performance worthy of a superhero. He collected 34 points, 21 rebounds and 5 blocks for an efficiency of 50, a number which shattered the previous European Qualifiers record of 37. Hlinason also set a new record for most rebounds in a single game.
Iceland wasted a double-digit lead inside the final five minutes of the fourth quarter and then Hlinason came up big in the second overtime with four straight points and a big offensive rebound at 106-102 to lock up the win.
Iceland would end up barely missing on the World Cup at the end hands of Georgia.
The Schroder Show
Dennis Schroder showed once again why he is the ultimate leader of the German national team as he poured in 38 points in a victory over Poland - to set the record for most points in a European Qualifier (a mark which would be surpassed later in the 2022 summer by Giannis Antetokounmpo).
Schroder, who would go on to be named Most Valuable Player of the FIBA World Cup 2023 for champs Germany, connected on 10 of 25 from the field and 11 of 12 free throws in a 93-83 victory. Schroder also collected 7 rebounds and 5 assists as Germany overcame a massive showing at the other end by AJ Slaughter, who drained 8 three-pointers in scoring 32 points.
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