MIES (Switzerland) - A number of players received the first call to their respective national team for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Qualifiers, and many of them showed plenty of promise.
But who had the best debut in their first games of the Qualifiers? Cast your vote below in the poll!
Jerrick Harding - Poland
GUARD
Birth Date: April 13, 1998 Height: 6ft 0in / 1.85 m Club: BC Rytas (LTU) Statistics: 32 EFF; 32 PTS; 5 AST; 2 STL
Poland head coach Igor Milicic gave the keys to the key to Jerrick Harding and the point guard flourished in his first appearance in the White and Red. The 27-year-old playmaker poured in 32 points on 11-of-21 shooting in Poland's 90-78 victory over Austria. He also picked up 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Even though he was playing with new teammates, Harding committed only 1 turnover in 34 minutes on the court.
Stefan Miljenovic - Serbia
GUARD
Birth Date: August 21, 2001 Height: 6ft 2in / 1.90 m Club: Crvena Zvezda MTS (SRB) Statistics: 32 EFF; 23 PTS; 9 AST; 8 REB
Stefan Miljenovic had quite an experience in his first game for Srbija as the team first fell behind Switzerland by 23 points at home before rallying to win 90-86. The 24-year-old guard showed his class as he flirted with a triple-double in collecting 23 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists. The Swiss had no answer for Miljenovic, who went to the foul line 19 times and converted 15 of them.
Nikola Tanaskovic - Serbia
POWER FORWARD
Birth Date: October 21, 1997 Height: 6ft 8in / 2.04 m Club: KK Buducnost Voli (MNE) Statistics: 22 EFF; 16 PTS; 6 REB; 2 AST
Nikola Tanaskovic was also part of Serbia's comeback 90-86 win over Switzerland in his national team debut. The 28-year-old power forward was very efficient in his showing, scoring 16 points on 5 of 7 field goals and 5 of 5 free throws. He also grabbed 6 rebounds - 3 of them from the offensive glass - to go with 2 assists and 1 block with just 1 turnover in 30 minutes on the court.
Lionel Gaudoux - France
POWER FORWARD
Birth Date: May 30, 1995 Height: 6ft 5in / 1.98 m Club: Elan Chalon (FRA) Statistics: 21 EFF; 13 PTS; 8 REB; 2 STL
Lionel Gaudoux rewarded head coach Frederic Fauthoux for the selection with a strong performance in France's 79-63 victory over Belgium. The athletic power forward scored 13 points on 6 of 7 shots and hit his sole free throw. The 30-year-old also chipped in 8 rebounds - 4 of them offensive boards - and 2 steals in a team-high 24 minutes.
Nikos Persidis - Greece
SMALL FORWARD
Birth Date: September 8, 1995 Height: 6ft 6in / 2.00 m Club: PAOK BC (GRE) Statistics: 19 EFF; 17 PTS; 1 REB; 1 STL
Nikos Persidis was nearly perfect in his debut as Greece blew out Romania 91-64 at home. The PAOK BC forward was playing in front of his home fans in Thessaloniki and he hit all seven of his shots - including two three-pointers - and his only foul shot for 17 points. He also grabbed 1 rebound and 1 steal in 13 minutes off the bench.
Great Osobor - Spain
CENTER
Birth Date: December 13, 2002 Height: 6ft 8in / 2.03 m Club: Baskets Jena (GER) Statistics: 15 EFF; 12 PTS; 8 REB; 2 STL
Spain got a glimpse of a big man they really haven't seen much with Great Osobor making his debut in the country's 74-64 road win over Denmark. The 22-year-old was born in Spain but left the country when he was 12 and grew up in England before playing college basketball in the United States and starting his professional career in Germany. Osobor showed his talent with 12 points on 5 of 9 shots, 8 rebounds and 2 steals.
Elijah Mitrou-Long - Greece
POINT GUARD
Birth Date: December 15, 1996 Height: 6ft 1in / 1.87 m Club: Aris (GRE) Statistics: 15 EFF; 13 PTS; 6 AST; 4 REB
Elijah Mitrou-Long got the start in his debut in front of his home fans and the Aris point guard responded with a strong game in Greece's 91-64 win over Romania. The 28-year-old scored 13 points on 4 of 12 shots from the field and 4 of 4 free throws while also picking up 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal.
FIBA