WC Qualifiers: Win for Croatia, Defeats for Austria and Slovenia
On Friday nights, Croatia grabbed a big win over Cyprus in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers, while Austria and Slovenia suffered blowout defeats against Poland and Estonia, respectively.
(Photo: FIBA)
Croatia, which has qualified already for the next stage, has achieved a massive win against Cyprus on the road in Limassol. In the game, where the win was never questionable for the red and white squad, Croatia celebrated in the end with the final score of 123:50. For Croatia, Ivica Zubac had 24 points and Dario Šarić 21.
In Group F, Austria suffered a painful home defeat by Poland, with the final score of 123:77 in a game, where the Polish squad was the dominant force all game long. For Austria, Nico Železnik led the way in scoring with 24 points scored.
Slovenia did not expect such a rough experience on the road in Tallinn against Estonia and has been defeated with the final score of 93:62 in the end, with Gregor Hrovat leading the way for the squad, led by head coach Aleksander Sekulić from the bench with 11 points. Miha Cerkvenik, Alen Omić and Stefan Joksimović had 9 points apiece.
FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Qualifiers, First Round, Round 5, Friday, 3 July 2026:
Group E:
Cyprus – CROATIA 50:123 (12:35, 14:24, 10:33, 14:31)
S. Tigkas 10, F. Tigkas 7 | Zubac 24, Šarić 21.
Group F:
Austria – POLAND 77:123 (16:24, 12:29, 29:28, 20:42)
Železnik 14, Inoa, Friedrich and Kapić 9 | Kolenda 23, Ponitka 18.
Group H:
ESTONIA – Slovenia 93:62 (22:16, 24:15, 27:20, 20:11)
Vaaks 20, Konontsuk 19 | Hrovat 11, Cerkvenik, Joksimović and Omić 9.
