Spight scores 31 for Armenia; first wins for Azerbaijan, Norway

MUNICH (Germany) - Andre Spight put on a scoring clinic in Armenia's first victory at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers, while Azerbaijan, Norway and Switzerland also grabbed wins on Gameday 2.

Armenia bounced back from their road loss to Austria earlier in the window to beat Albania 84-79 at home for a 1-1 record in Group C. The hosts led by 10 points with four minutes to go, but saw the gap cut to two before allowing just one more score in the final 90 seconds with a big alley-oop icing the win.

Spight led the way with 31 points and Chris Jones collected 22 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals as Armenia's starters scored 81 of their 84 points. 

Switzerland took control of Group A as they rolled to a 2-0 record with an 86-63 win at Ireland. The Swiss were never threatened after the break and shared the ball well with four players in double figures - topped by Noe Anabir with 15 points and Killian Martin added 14 points.

It was a second defeat for Ireland as they will now look to bounce back in the next window when they play both games at home.

Orhan Haciyeva

Azerbaijan grabbed their first victory in Group A as they knocked off Kosovo 87-77 at home for a 1-1 record.  The game was close throughout and the home side trailed 66-63 before Orhan Haciyeva  hit two three-pointers to spark a decisive 20-4 run.

Haciyeva finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds and Donta Hall registered a double-double of his own with 20 points and 14 rebounds in the victory. Dardan Berisha hit for 20 points in the loss, which dropped Kosovo's record to 1-1.
 

The only undefeated team in Group B is Norway, who squandered a double-digit lead but ran away from Luxembourg late, winning 72-58 on the road in their opening game.

Norway allowed just six points in the fourth quarter for a 1-0 record in qualifying as Harald  Frey poured in 23 points with 6 assists and 4 rebounds, Chris-Ebou Ndow had 16 points and Sjur Dyb Berg chipped in 1 point, 16 rebounds and 5 assists.

Luxembourg could not use Clancy Rugg's 22 points and are now 1-1 in the group after being unable to back up their opening victory.

Highs

Efficiency: 34 - Orhan Haciyeva (AZE), Donta Hall (AZE), Andre Spight (ARM)
Points: 31 - Andre Spight (ARM) 
Rebounds: 16 - Sjur Dyb Berg (NOR)
Assists: 11 - Chris Jones (ARM)
Steals: 4 - Dardan Kapiti (KOS), Mikaile Tmusic (KOS)
Blocks: 5 - Clancy Rugg (LUX)

FIBA