Norway overcome Bulgaria to open Third Round; Croatia, Kosovo make strong starts

MUNICH (Germany) - Croatia, Kosovo, Norway and Romania all made winning starts to the Third Round action of the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Pre-Qualifiers.

Norway opened their account with an 86-80 victory over Bulgaria in Group J behind their duo of Chris Ebou-Ndow - 23 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals - and Harald Frey - 27 points and 4 assists - combining for 50 points.

Despite the six-point victory thanks to a 33-18 final quarter from Bulgaria, Norway led by as many as 21 points and led for a total of 37:06. Codi Miller-Mcintyre posted a team-high 20 points along with 4 rebounds and 4 assists in defeat.

Elsewhere, there were a couple of big margin of victories for Croatia and Kosovo as they handled Ireland and Switzerland, 89-49 and 76-49, respectively.

Croatia had four players reach double figures, led by Roko Badzim with 18 points and Toni Perkovic with 17 points. The two players shot a combined 10-of-13 from three-point range, and as a team, Croatia shot 55.6 percent from beyond the arc.

Kosovo, meanwhile, got a strong national team debut from guard Dominic Artis who recorded 19 points, 6 assists, 3 steals and 2 rebounds on 8-of-13 shooting from the field.

Dardan Berisha scored a team-high 20 points for Kosovo in just 21 minutes, while Drilon Hajrizi finished with a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double.

In the closest game of the day - featuring 12 lead changes - Romania prevailed over Albania 87-83 on the road. Albania led by as many as 10 points in the second quarter, but Romania erased their deficit thanks to a 14-2 run to shift the momentum in their favor.

Kris Richard put up an all-around game with 18 points, 8 assists, 4 steals and 3 rebounds, also connecting on 5-of-11 shots from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point.

Romania took advantage of 16 turnovers by Albania and turned them into 22 points to take early control of the group.

The action resumes with four more games on Saturday as Austria, Denmark, Slovakia and Luxembourg all continue their quest to reach the Qualifiers.

FIBA