MANCHESTER (Great Britain) – Iceland have passed the first test and have advanced to the Second Round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers.
A nail-biting 88-86 victory over Great Britain punched their ticket in the next phase, as they keep their dreams of reaching their first-ever World Cup next year in Qatar alive.
Iceland trailed by as many as 11 with 1:30 to play in the second quarter before they stormed out of the blocks in the third to narrow the deficit to 63-60 with less than two minutes left.
Still trailing, Iceland made a final late flurry with 39 seconds remaining, and finally took the lead thanks to a free throw from Tryggvi Hlinason. Great Britain, though, were not done yet.
They had an opportunity with under 10 seconds left, but Gabe Olaseni failed to convert under the basket. A turnover then allowed Martin Hermannsson the chance to ice the game from the foul line.
Jon Axel Gudmundsson led the winners with 25 points and 8 rebounds, with Hermannsson adding 20, cool and calm when it mattered. GB were led by a game-high 23 from Josh Uduje.
And now, Iceland can regroup and prepare for the Second Round - having finished Group D with a 3-3 record. Iceland moves on, desperate to overcome what has been a subpar record since 2019.
They propped up Group F with a 2-4 record in the 2019 Qualifiers; despite logging wins over Finland and Czechia.
Iceland advanced to the Second Round of the Qualifiers in 2023 but finished with a solid 5-5 overall record in a pool that included Spain, Italy, Georgia, Ukraine and the Netherlands, falling short once again.
This time, Iceland – and its fans – will certainly be believing that third time is the charm.
FIBA