MIES (Switzerland) - Down goes Goliath! Everybody likes a good upset and the opening window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Qualifiers definitely provided some major surprises over four days of action on the Road to Qatar.
The first two sets of games across the continent proved especially favorable for six teams ranked between 39th and 54th in the FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by NIKE. Curiously, all six of them registered road wins in their surprises.
Here are the upsets in order of differential in the FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by NIKE:
# | Winning team | Losing team | Result | Differential |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Netherlands (54th) | Latvia (11th) | -43 | |
2. | Hungary (48th) | Finland (17th) | -31 | |
3. | Iceland (46th) | Italy (15th) | -31 | |
4. | Portugal (47th) | Montenegro (18th) | -29 | |
5. | Estonia (39th) | Slovenia (14th) | -25 | |
6. | Ukraine (41st) | Georgia (20th) | -21 | |
7. | Hungary (48th) | Belgium (35th) | -13 | |
8. | Italy (15th) | Lithuania (9th) | -6 | |
9. | Croatia (34th) | Israel (32nd) | -2 |
Netherlands (#54) 86-78 Latvia (#11)
Netherlands spoil Bertans farewell: Latvia's game in Riga to open the qualification was supposed to be a party to celebrate the retirement from the national team of long-time captain Dairis Bertans. Netherlands had other plans with an 86-78 victory in Group F. The guests jumped ahead 26-12 after 10 minutes and never looked back in grabbing the win. Nathan Kuta scored 17 points for the winners while Keye van der Vuurst collected 16 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals. The 17 points from Rihards Lomazs were not nearly enough for Latvia.
Hungary (#48) 89-82 Finland (#17)
Hungary pick up first win over Finland in 29 years: Hungary were the suprise team of the opening window and that started with an 89-82 home victory over Finland - the country's first win over Finland in 29 years. Hungary punched early with a 31-17 first quarter and continued the push in the second quarter in building a 60-39 halftime lead. That was enough for Hungary to hold on. Zoltan Perl scored 25 points and Nate Reuvers had 16 points in the win. The FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Semi-Finalists Finland were led by Sasu Salin's 16 points.
Iceland (#46) 81-76 Italy (#15)
Iceland do it again in Italy: Sure, Iceland beating Italy on the road was an upset in terms of world ranking, but Iceland knew they could win in Italy - they had done it already in the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers a year ago. Iceland built a 10-point lead late in the third quarter but watch Italy charge back and pull ahead. Iceland countered with an 11-2 run to close the game and get the 81-76 road victory. Elvar Fridriksson tallied 29 points for Iceland and Tryggvi Hlinason added 16 points and 7 rebounds. Davide Casarin had 19 points in a losing effort.
Portugal (#47) 83-62 Montenegro (#18)
Portugal build on EuroBasket performance: Portugal were one of the surprises of the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 by reaching the Round of 16. And the country took a strong step forward after that showing by rolling past Montenegro 83-62 on the road. Portugal took the middle two quarters 50-22 to decide the game. Travante Williams had 16 points and Ricardo Monteiro added 13 points for the winners. Marko Simonovic scored 13 points for Montenegro.
Estonia (#39) 94-93 OT Slovenia (#14)
Estonia win OT thriller in Slovenia: One of the most thrilling games in the window was Estonia's improbable 94-93 overtime win in Slovenia in Group H. There were 15 lead changes - the last coming in the waning seconds. Slovenia held a four-point lead with less than 10 seconds to go in overtime but Henri Drell scored a layup and then after a steal the ball landed in the hands of Kristian Kullamae, who buried the game-winning three-pointer. Drell ended the game with 29 points and Kullamae had 24 points. Gregor Hrovat's 23 points were not enough for Slovenia.
Ukraine (#41) 92-79 Georgia (#20)
Ukraine spoil Shermadini good-bye party: Ukraine were in no mood to let hosts Georgia celebrate the final home game for Giorgi Shermadini and registered a 92-79 victory in Group A. Led by Oleksandr Kovliar, Ukraine laid the foundation for the win with a 23-13 third quarter and never relinguished control. Kovliar finished the game with 31 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Duda Sanadze had 22 points for Georgia. Ukraine ended up beating Denmark in the second game for a 2-0 mark in the group.
Hungary (#48) 87-85 Belgium (#35)
Hungary double up on upsets with win in Belgium: Hungary finished the job in style by knocking off Belgium 87-85 on the road to take sole possession of Group G after the first window. Hungary wasted a 15-point third quarter lead and trailed in the fourth quarter but Nate Reuvers hit a three-pointer and two free throws in the closing 150 seconds to help Hungary to the win. Reuvers finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds and Adam Somogyi contributed 7 points and 13 assists. Retin Obasohan poured in 31 points in the loss.
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