MEXICO CITY (Mexico) – Czechia defeated Korea on Tuesday at Gimnasio Juan de la Barrera in Mexico City to get a step closer to securing a spot in the Semi-Finals of the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualying Tournament in Mexico. The Europeans are now 2-0 in Group A, where Mali also notched a big win over Venezuela to improve to 1-1 and keep their hopes alive. Korea (0-2) still also has a chance to advance but needs a complex combinations of results on Thursday’s games. This is how it all unfolded:
Czechia dominates inside to beat Korea
Czechia used a 14-3 run spanning the end of the first period and the beginning of the second quarter to take the lead for good on their way to their second win of the tournament, 76-63. The Europeans finished with a 44-24 edge in points which allowed them to prevail on a game where both teams shot around 40 percent from the field.
Emma Cechova scored 7 of her 15 points in the fourth to lead her country. Julia Reisingerova (13 points and 6 rebounds), Tereza Vyoralova (12 points), Veronika Sipova (11 points) and Gabriela Andelova (11 points) also scored in double digits. Jisu Park had 20 points and 5 rebounds for a Korean squad that couldn’t overcome their lack of accuracy from long range (3-for-16) or a 21-6 deficit in second-chance points. An Jin and Jihyun Park scored 10 points apiece for the Asians, who despite their 0-2 record still have a shot at advancing.
Mali crushes Venezuela to get even in the standings
Mali led wire-to-wire in their blowout 88-66 win over Venezuela to keep things interesting in Group A. The Africans were relentless on both ends, hustling for steals, loose balls and offensive rebounds, and attacking the rim with purpose to come away victorious. Sira Thienou had a game-high 25 efficiency rating after scoring 18 points with 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Guard Djeneba N’Diaye led the team in scoring with 21 points, while three others scored in double digits.
Mali had big edges in points in the paint (42-22), second-chance points (28-5) and points off turnovers (23-4), while also shooting 12-for-37 from beyond. Daniella Wallen scored all of her 21 points in the second half for Venezuela, who got within 12 points at the end of the third quarter after being down by as many as 32 earlier in the night. She shot 5-for-7 from beyond the arc and 7-for-11 overall to lead her team with a 24-efficiency rating. Brianna Herlihy added 19 points and 7 rebounds, while Waleska Pérez had 12 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals, but Venezuela was held to just 36 percent from the field and had 23 turnovers.
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