France, Croatia, and Poland all celebrated start-to-finish victories in World Cup qualifying. As a result, the DBB team will travel to face the league leader on Sunday. Lauri Markkanen, on the other hand, had a rough day.
Without Doncic: France Easily Beats Slovenia
Against Slovenia—without Luka Doncic—the game was one-sided from the start in favor of the French, who had most recently narrowly defeated Serbia in the second friendly match between the two countries. They never once trailed at the Bercy Arena in Paris: the score was 31–17 after the first quarter and 54–35 at halftime.
In the second half, France simply had to manage the lead. The top performer was superstar Victor Wembanyama with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Maxime Raynaud and Matthew Strazel each scored 13 points. On the Slovenian side, Martin Krampelj and Gregor Glas were the top scorers with just ten points each. France now leads Group L, while Slovenia is currently in last place with a 3-3 record.
No challenge for Hezonja and Co.: Croatia celebrates victory over Latvia
Like the French, Croatia celebrated a dominant victory over Latvia from start to finish: Led by the impressive Mario Hezonja (28 PTS, 7 AST), the hosts never trailed; after the first quarter, the score was 23–14. In the second quarter, the Croatians scored a whopping 37 points—and led by 19 points at halftime.
Since the hosts also dominated the second half, they ultimately secured a comfortable 115–80 victory, putting Croatia—like Germany—at 6–1 in Group K. Alongside Hezonja, Luka Bozic and Karlo Matkovic (8/8 FG) each put up 17 points in strong performances. Ivica Zubac, who had recorded a double-double against Germany in their last game, was more subdued this time, scoring just six points from the free-throw line while grabbing eight rebounds. The top Latvian performer was Rihards Lomazs, formerly of Göttingen and Oldenburg, who impressed for the Baltic team with 23 points
Ahead of the matchup against the DBB team: Poland remains undefeated
Like France and Croatia, Poland didn’t let its opponent Israel take the lead even once: In Riga, the Poles were already leading 23–15 after the first quarter, and held a 13-point lead at halftime. The game was effectively decided by the time they held a 20-point lead heading into the final quarter.
As a result, Poland remains undefeated and in first place in Group K ahead of Sunday’s matchup against the DBB team (2:45 p.m.). The visitors’ top scorer was Mateusz Ponitka (24 PTS, 6 REB, 9 AST, 7/11 FG). Jordan Loyd and Aleksandar Balcerowski also delivered strong performances, each scoring 18 points. For the Israelis—who sit last in Group K with a 2-5 record—Roman Sorkin (26 PTS) put up a particularly valiant fight against the loss.
Markkanen ice-cold: Finland loses to Sweden
In the neighborhood showdown in Group L, however, the game remained close throughout—with a disappointing outcome for Finland, the fourth-place finisher at the European Championship. Sweden, led by the strong Miami Heat guard Pelle Larsson (31 PTS), took the lead at the end of the third quarter and never relinquished it. In the 86–81 victory, Simon Birgander (17 PTS, 10 REB) and Ludde Hakanson (14 PTS, 7 AST) also delivered strong performances.
On the Finnish side, however, superstar Lauri Markkanen was ice-cold: The NBA big man scored just 11 points on 2-for-13 shooting from the field, and none of his nine attempts from beyond the arc found the mark. The top Finnish performer was former Chemnitz player Olivier Nkamhoua, who now plays for FC Barcelona and scored 19 points. With this loss, both Finland and Sweden now stand at a 4-3 record.
Fourth Quarter Proves Decisive: Hungary Overtakes Estonia
In the game between Hungary and Estonia, however, the first half was still evenly matched. The hosts went into halftime with a 37–34 lead and were ahead by only seven points after the third quarter. The game was ultimately decided in the final quarter, during which Hungary quickly built a double-digit lead and ultimately celebrated a convincing 85–67 victory.
With this victory, the Hungarians—led by Zoltan Perl (22 PTS)—move past Estonia into the top half of Group L’s standings. The game’s leading scorer was a former Gotha and Bamberg player: Kristian Kullamae fought hard against the Estonian defeat with 26 points.
