Scoring title, all-time leaders and more numbers to watch in the European Qualifiers

MUNICH (Germany) - The wait is almost over - only a couple of weeks and we will know the 32 teams with tickets to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023. There is just one more window but there is still plenty of drama for the final games of the European Qualifiers from February 23-27.

Here are just some of the numbers to watch in the final set of games across the continent.

9

Consecutive Qualifiers wins

The longest winning streak in the European Qualifiers belongs to Latvia, who last window booked their ticket to the World Cup for the first time. The Baltic side has reeled off nine straight wins - not losing since the first game of the qualification campaign against Serbia on November 25, 2021 - a 101-100 loss in Belgrade. Latvia have already qualified for the big show this summer but would love to finish the campaign in style with wins at Turkey and at home against Greece.

0.4

The difference in scoring averages in the Qualifiers between the top two

The race for the top scorer at the European Qualifiers will likely come down the final hours as Sweden's Ludde Hakanson or Elvar Fridriksson of Iceland compete the scoring title. Hakanson has collected at least 24 points in the last three games and has tallied 164 points in eight games for a 20.5 scoring average. Fridriksson was held to just 10 points in his last game and has poured in 161 points in 8 games for 20.1 points per contest. Given that Iceland play their last game on February 26, Hakanson will know how many points he needs to score in Sweden's last contest.

2

The number of assists "Point god" Hakanson trails on all-time list

Speaking of Ludde Hakanson, the Swedish point guard also is tops in average assists with 7.4 per game, and he could become the all-time leader in European Qualifiers history. Hakanson, who owns the single game record for assists with 14 versus Slovenia on November 28, 2021, has compiled 79 assists in 14 games over two qualification campaigns. That leaves him just two assists behind Ukrainian Denys Lukashov (81 assists in 19 games) and Joaquin Colom of Spain (81 assists in 17 games) on the all-time list.

11,057

The number of fans that saw Latvia book their historic World Cup ticket

Fans have come out in droves to see their national teams play and there should be some big crowds in the final window of the European Qualifiers. Latvia drew 11,057 fans for their most recent qualifier on November 14, 2022 when they beat Great Britain to lock up their ticket to Indonesia, Japan and Philippines - and they host Greece again in Riga.

A capacity crowd of about 8,000 fans could show for Greece's showdown with Serbia in the Ano Liossia Olympic Hall in Athens on Friday February 24. And, with Georgia's World Cup hanging in the balance, it would not be a surprise if 8,500 supporters flock to the Tbilisi Arena on Sunday February 26 for the massive showdown with Iceland.

22

The number of Qualifiers games that Zoltan Perl and David Vojvoda have played

One thing is certain about Hungarian basketball - you can count on Zoltan Perl and David Vojvoda to show up. If the two dependable Hungary leaders play in the upcoming window at Lithuania and versus Bosnia and Herzegovina, they will become the only two players who have played in all 24 European games in the qualification campaigns for the 2019 and 2023 World Cups. 

1

Spain's position in the FIBA World Rankings

Spain occupy the top spot in the FIBA World Rankings, presented by NIKE following their memorable triumph at FIBA EuroBasket 2022. The reigning World Cup champions have already booked their spot at this year's edition and will be hoping to continue their momentum in the upcoming Qualifiers window in order to fend off the challenge of USA to their ranking.

3

Remaining World Cup spots available in final European Qualifiers window

Eight nations are holding their breaths going into the final window as they will battle it out for the remaining three spots at Indonesia, Japan and Philippines.

Will it be Serbia (5-3) or Belgium (3-5) in Group I? Who will take it from Montenegro (6-4), Bosnia and Herzegovina (5-5) and Hungary (5-5) in Group K? And which of Georgia (4-4), Iceland (4-4) or Ukraine (3-5) will get the final spot in Group L? [/unordered]

The stakes are still high for many countries and players throughout the continent and the final European Qualifiers window will certainly deliver plenty of drama.

FIBA