MUNICH (Germany) - The final window of the First Round of FIBA EuroBasket 2029 Pre-Qualifiers concluded on Sunday, as the remaining ticket to the next phase were confirmed.
The teams that failed to qualify from the FIBA Basketball World Cup European Qualifiers will join them in the Second Round.
Bulgaria advance to Second Round with rout of Norway
Bulgaria qualified for the Second Round of the FIBA EuroBasket 2029 Qualifiers, as Sasha Vezenkov starred in their 88-57 success over Norway.
Quickly racing out to a 27-10 lead after the first quarter, Bulgaria showed no mercy on an already qualified Norway side, without their key marksman Herald Frey, and they couldn't get out of neutral.
Vezenkov would lead the way with 22 points, while Ludvik Bergseng had 10 points for Norway.
Luxembourg's dreams ended by North Macedonia; Ireland get consolation win
North Macedonia finished Group A unbeaten at 6-0 after they defeated Luxembourg 80-66 in Luxembourg City.
A win would have given them a chance of advancing as the best runner-up; instead, they ran into a North Macedonian side who led from start to finish, with their lead ballooning to as many as 19 points.
Nate Sestina led the attack for the victors with 18 points and 5 rebounds; he was one of five North Macedonia players in double figures. Ben Kovac had 17 points for Luxembourg.
Meanwhile, Ireland secured a 76-70 win over Azerbaijan in Baku.
The visitors recovered from a slow start - where they fell behind 23-12 - to find their groove when it mattered, as Sean Flood helped himself to 25 points on 10-for-18 shooting for the winners. Wesley Van Beck paced Azerbaijan with 21.
Slovakia finish unbeaten, deny Kosovo
Slovakia finished a spotless 4-0 after they narrowly beat Kosovo 86-83 in their final Group C game.
However, they had to come back from 83-81 down with 2:13 to play to grab the win; they executed well down the stretch to prevent Kosovo from ending on a high note.
Matus Hronsky paced Slovakia with 20 points, while Drilon Hajrizi led Kosovo with 20 points and 8 rebounds.
Daily Highs
Efficiency: Drilon Hajrizi (Kosovo) -28 Points: Sean Flood (Ireland) - 25 Rebounds: Orhan Haciyeva (Azerbaijan) - 14 Assists: Dalibor Hlivak (Slovakia) / Konstantin Toshkov (Bulgaria) - 8 Steals: Multiple players - 3 Blocks: Emmanuel Agbason (Azerbaijan) - 8
FIBA