MUNICH (Germany) - The road to the FIBA EuroBasket 2029 officially began with the Pre-Qualifiers on Thursday with four teams picking up wins.
Bulgaria, Luxembourg, North Macedonia and Slovakia were the victorious nations, with four more encounters scheduled for Sunday to close out the opening window.
Luxembourg beat Ireland behind Kovac's 38
Luxembourg overcame a stubborn Ireland side 89-77 in a thrilling encounter, with Ben Kovac the star of the show in Luxembourg City.
Kovac hit 38 points and hit six three-pointers as Luxembourg withstood the Irish second-half storm to pull clear for good in the mid-point of the fourth quarter. The hosts got off to a flyer, leading 26-11 after one, before the visitors pulled the deficit back and led 74-70 in the first three minutes of the fourth.
Luxembourg hit back and kept Ireland at bay to secure the win. Oliver Vujakovic added 19 on 70 percent shooting for the victors.
Taiwo Badmus led Ireland with 24 points. Sean Flood added 15, as he went a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point land.
Bulgaria start EuroBasket adventure with win over Armenia
Bulgaria opened their account with a 98-88 victory over an Andre Spight-led Armenia side. The Bulgarians took control early and never let the Armenians come close, with their lead peaking at 16 points.
Aleksandar Stoimenov paced the winners with 21 points, hitting three triples in that haul, shooting 7-for-8 overall. Yordan Minchev bagged a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds, with veteran Dee Bost one assist shy of his own double-double with 11 points and 9 assists.
Spight dominated the offense for Armenia, scoring a whopping 37 points with Christian Vital adding an impressive 27. However, there was little support for the two as they shot a combined 59 field goal attempts out of Armenia's 78 in total.
Slovakia dismiss Albania
Slovakia opened their EuroBasket Pre-Qualifiers campaign with a 73-63 home win over Albania. Taking a 57-52 lead into the fourth quarter, the hosts were not home and dry, but started the final period on a 6-1 run to take a 63-53 advantage, and from there kept their counterparts at bay.
Peter Kovacik led Slovakia with 13 points, going 5-for-5 from the foul line, with his side finding great success in the game, shooting 75 percent from their 25 attempts. Maros Golian went 6-for-10 from the floor to add 12 points and 8 boards.
Albania, though, will feel this was a game that got away, having led for portions of the first half before the wheels came off in the latter stages of the second quarter. Xhuljan Tola had a game-high 16 points and 4 steals for Albania, who now prepare to welcome Kosovo on Sunday.
North Macedonia ambush Azerbaijan
North Macedonia ruthlessly beat Azerbaijan 87-49 in their EuroBasket Pre-Qualifying opener. After taking a 22-13 lead after the first quarter, the North Macedonians held their counterparts to just 8 points in the second quarter to take a commanding 40-21 lead, and they never looked back.
Andrej Jakimovski led North Macedonia with 25 points and 11 rebounds, helped by 17 from Lejson Zeqiri. Amil Hamzayev led Azerbaijan with 12 points.
Daily Highs
Efficiency: Ben Kovac (Luxembourg) - 33 Points: Ben Kovac (Luxembourg) - 38 Rebounds: Saadettin Donat (Azerbaijan) - 13 Assists: Dee Bost (Bulgaria) / Omari Moore (North Macedonia) - 9 Steals: Xhuljan Tola (Albania) - 4 Blocks: Emil Stoilov (Bulgaria) - 3
FIBA