MIES (Switzerland) - The third day of action at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Qualifiers saw three of the continents main powerhouses Türkiye, Greece and Spain as well as Ukraine finish off a sweep of the first window.
The 16 nations from Groups A to D are playing across the continent while the other 16 teams in the European Qualifiers will finish their opening window on Monday.
Daily Highs
Efficiency: Oleksandr Kovliar (UKR) - 32 Points: Oleksandr Kovliar (UKR) - 28 Rebounds: Marek Blazevic (LTU) - 13 Assists: Oleksandr Kovliar (UKR) - 11 Steals: Quinn Ellis (GBR) / Travante Williams (POR) - 4 Blocks: Tryggvi Hlinason (ISL) / Izan Almansa (ESP) - 3
Türkiye never threatened, sweep first window
Türkiye finished the first European Qualifiers window in style by cruising past Switzerland 85-60 on the road for a 2-0 record in Group C. A couple of months after finishing second at FIBA EuroBasket 2025, Ergin Ataman's team took control in the second quarter by allowing only 8 points in the frame.
Yigitican Saybir paced four Turkish players in double figures with 19 points while Tarik Biberovic had a hot start to finish with 16 points and Furkan Korkmaz added 12 points. Selim Fofana scored 17 points to lead Switzerland, who fell to 0-2 after failing to hold a 23-point lead over Serbia in the opening game.
The other game in the group has Serbia playing at Bosnia and Herzegovina later today.
Greece finish sweep despite Portugal fight
The other team from the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 podium in action on Sunday, Greece also made it a perfect 2-0 with a hard-fought 76-68 road win over Portugal in Group B.
Greece opened a 12-point lead in the first half but the hosts were still only down two points with 8 minutes to go. The Greeks came up with an answer any time the underdogs tried to threaten and finished off the win.
Giannoulis Larentzakis hit 4 three-pointers for 15 points and 20-year-old Alexandros Samodurov had another fine night with 12 points. Travante Williams tallied 15 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals in the loss, dropping Portugal to 1-1.
Montenegro are also 1-1 after they rebounded from their opening loss to Portugal by beating Romania 80-75 on the road. Montenegro led 49-34 at halftime and never gave up the lead in the second half.
Kendrick Perry paced Montenegro with 16 points and 10 assists while Daron Russell had 20 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists for Romania, who fell to 0-2.
Mannion heroics give Italy big win in Lithuania
Italy took down the comeback kings Lithuania with a late game-winning layup from Nico Mannion for an important 82-81 road victory to salvage a split of the first window.
Two nights after a comeback for the ages, Lithuania did build a 10-point lead in the second quarter but that was gone in the third quarter. Gabriele Procida helped Italy push the advantage to 8 points with 5 minutes to go.
Lithuania would not go away and Arnas Velicka drained a stepback three-pointer with 13 seconds for an 81-80 lead. Nico Mannion answered right back with a layup with 7.5 seconds to go. Velicka's final attempt came up short and Italy won the game.
Gabriele Procida led the way with 5 three-pointers for 24 points, Stefano Tonut had 16 points and Mannion finished with 15 points. Ignas Sargiunas, the hero from Lithuania's first win, had 18 points and Marek Blazevic totalled 14 points and 13 rebounds.
That result combined with Great Britain beating Iceland 90-84 on the road means all four teams in Group D are even at 1-1. After a tight first half, Great Britain blew the game open in building a 21-point lead late in the third quarter. Iceland ended up cutting off much of that deficit with thoughts of a point differential mattering later in the group.
Carl Wheatle scored 22 points, Myles Hesson had 17 points and Quinn Ellis produced 16 points, 8 assists and 4 steals in the win. Martin Hermannsson scored 18 points and Tryggvi Hlinason chipped in 17 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Spain get revenge on Georgia, Kovliar shines again for Ukraine
Spain and Ukraine are both undefeated in Group A with the former getting revenge on Georgia in a 90-61 victory at home. Spain lost to Georgia in the opening game of the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 but took out their frustrations in La Laguna with a 51-24 combined score for the middle two quarters.
Santiago Yusta scored 17 points to lead Spain while Izan Almansa amassed 12 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks. Toko Shengelia and Mate Khatiashivili were the only Georgian players in double figures with 10 points each as Georgia fell to 0-2.
Georgia's Giorgi Shermadini picked up 8 points and 6 rebounds in his final game for his national team.
Ukraine for their part got a big performance from Oleksandr Kovliar in registering an 88-71 win over Denmark in Group A. Ukraine took the middle two quarters 55-26 to roll to the victory.
Kovliar followed up his 29-point, 6-rebound and 11-assist opening performance with 31 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. And Viacheslav Bobrov contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds. Denmark are 0-2 despite Dane Erikstrup scoring 21 points.
Results
Group A Ukraine 88-71 Denmark Spain 90-61 Georgia
Group B Portugal 68-78 Greece Romania 75-80 Montenegro
Group C Switzerland 60-85 Türkiye Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Serbia (20:00 CET)
Group D Lithuania 81-82 Italy Iceland 84-90 Great Britain
FIBA