MIES (Switzerland) - The race for the 12 European spots at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 is heating up, with some big names having their backs up against a wall ahead of Monday's encounters.
Greece had never lost consecutive Qualifiers games before 2026, but now find themselves at 3-4 following a three-game losing streak. Coach Vassilis Spanoulis will be looking to stop the slide, but standing in their way are another European giant in Spain, who enter the matchup at 5-2.
In the same Group I, Portugal and Georgia are tied at 4-3, with both riding high after major wins on Friday. Montenegro are also 4-3 and will play host to a Ukraine side sitting at 5-2.
In Group J, Türkiye will look to remain the only unbeaten team in the Qualifiers when they travel to Iceland, while Nikola Jokic and Serbia head to Italy for another chapter in one of European basketball's major rivalries.
A huge game also awaits in Lithuania, where the 3-4 hosts take on Bosnia and Herzegovina, another team sitting at 3-4 and boasting one of the tallest lineups in the competition.
Only the top three from each group will book their flights to Qatar next summer.
Who do you think will have a successful end to Window 4 on Monday? Cast your vote below and let us know!
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Of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s 78.9 points per game in this World Cup 2027 Qualifiers, 39.7 have been scored in the paint, with their 50.4% ratio being the highest among all teams in Europe; in fact, they are the only team scoring half of their total points in that area of the court.
Jusuf Nurkic became on Friday the first Bosnian player to have 25+ points and 10+ rebounds in a World Cup Qualifiers game (25pts, 14reb vs. Italy); he is averaging 19.6 points and 10.8 points in the competition.
Greece have lost their last three games in the World Cup Qualifiers after never losing consecutive games in the competition previously.
Spain have lost their last two games in the World Cup Qualifiers, their first losing run in the competition; they allowed more than 90 points in each of those two games after never conceding more than 84 points in their first 29 games in the competition.
Nick Calathes (Greece) is averaging 14.9 points and 7.4 assists in the World Cup Qualifiers, making 5+ assists in each of his seven appearances. He has also made at least one 3-pointer in each of his last six appearances.
Serbia are averaging 30.3 assists in their last three games played in the World Cup Qualifiers; they are averaging 2.5 assists per turnover in this campaign, the highest ratio among all teams in the European region.
Nico Mannion (Italy) has had 14+ points and 5+ assists in each of his last three games in the World Cup Qualifiers; he is yet to score more than 10 points in four games in a row in the competition.
Portugal have won their last two games in the World Cup Qualifiers, their first winning run in the competition, as many wins as in their first 11 games in the competition (W2 L9).
Georgia have won four of their last five games in the World Cup Qualifiers, including the most recent two and will attempt to win three games in a row for the first time in the competition. They have won four of their six away games played in the second round of the Qualifiers.
Tornike Shengelia is averaging 20.3 points per game when playing outside of Georgia in the World Cup Qualifiers.
Ukraine have won their last three games in the World Cup Qualifiers but have never won more games in a row in the competition; they lost their previous two meetings with Montenegro in the World Cup Qualifiers, during the Second Round of the 2019 campaign.
Türkiye have won their last eight games in the World Cup Qualifiers, trialing by more than two points in only one of those games. However, they have lost four of their six away games played in the second round of the qualifiers.
Cedi Osman has scored 15 or more points in 10 of his 11 games for Türkiye in the World Cup Qualifiers, including in all his four away games; Osman is making 52.2% of his attempted field goals in the qualification for the 2027 tournament.
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