MUNICH (Germany) - The Second Round of the European Pre-Qualifiers for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 continued with wins for Romania, Croatia, Switzerland, and Austria on Wednesday.
The second of six gamedays over the next three weeks saw four games - one in each of the four groups, which feature a total of 12 teams vying for a ticket to the European Qualifiers.
Fofana heroics give Switzerland win over Ukraine
A driving lay-up from Selim Fofana with 0.6 seconds left gave Switzerland a 66-64 win over Ukraine in an exhilarating clash in Group D.
The game looked to be heading to overtime as a three-pointer from Ivan Tkachenko with 21 seconds left knotted the game at 64-64 until Fofana's late heroics.
Fofana would end with 18 points and 6 assists for the victors. Tkachenko paced the Ukrainians with 13.
Late charge sees Romania beat Hungary
Romania made their home fans wait, but a late burst saw them beat Hungary 76-64 in a thrilling Group E encounter to improve to 2-0.
Trailing by as many as 10 points in the first quarter, the Romanians were behind for the majority of the game but always stayed in touch with their Hungarian counterparts until a third-quarter run, which gave them a 46-45 lead with two minutes to play, ultimately secured the lead for good.
Mihai Maciuca hit five triples, leading Romania with 21 points and 7 rebounds. Hungary will see this as a game that got away from them. Zoltan Perl led the Hungarians with 15 points.
Croatia overpower Norway as Hezonja stars
Croatia started slowly, but once they found their rhythm, were simply unstoppable, easing to a 101-68 road win over Norway in Group G.
The hosts started the brighter of the two teams early on, and even led Croatia 21-20 after the first ten minutes. But that was enough motivation for the visitors, who took the lead in the first possessions of the second and sped away from the Norwegians, who never found their way back.
Mario Hezonja led all scorers for Croatia with 27 points. He also pulled down 8 rebounds and added 4 assists in the win. Milovan Savic had 13 points to lead Norway, who drop to 0-2.
Austria overcome Bulgaria
Behind big games from Jakob Poeltl and the evergreen Sylven Landesburg, Austria blew past Bulgaria 88-76 in Group F for an important victory.
Poeltl enjoyed a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Landesburg led the scoring with 26 points on 50 percent shooting. Austria never looked in any danger against a Bulgarian side that struggled all game long, shooting just 6-of-24 from three-point range.
Borislav Mladenov was Bulgaria's main scoring threat, scoring 25 points in their opener.
Daily Highs
Efficiency: Mario Hezonja (CRO) / Jakob Poeltl (AUT) - 28 Points: Mario Hezonja (CRO) - 27 Rebounds: Jakob Poeltl (AUT) - 11 Assists: Oleksandr Kovliar (UKR) - 10 Steals: Jaleen Smith (CRO) / Borislav Mladenov (BUL) - 3 Blocks: Fynn Schott (AUT) - 3
FIBA