MUNICH (Germany) - All the tickets to the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 have now been taken, as Iceland picked up the last one from Group B, while Germany, Montenegro and Sweden advanced from the closest of all pools, Group D.
World champs advance
The winners of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 had a few tense moments, as not even a 3-2 record was enough to guarantee them a spot in the Final Round with one game left to play.
But under coach Alex Mumbru's guidance, Germany made no mistake in their final game of the Qualifiers, defeating Vezenkov-less Bulgaria 94-85 to win the group at 4-2. Their sharpshooters were on target; David Kramer and Andreas Obst combining for 26 points on 6-of-12 shooting from deep.
Meanwhile, Sweden and Montenegro worked overtime in front of 8,000 fans in Stockholm. The hosts picked up an 86-83 win, sending both teams to 3-3 - a win above Bulgaria to push both of them through to the Final Round.
Latvian perfection
A lot has been written about Latvia's incredible run under coach Luca Banchi, and it continued in the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers, despite the fact they had a guaranteed spot in the main draw as hosts of the event.
It was all about pride and sending a message to the rest of the continent, as Latvia will search for a medal in September, for sure. An 89-68 win over Slovakia sent them to 6-0, making them the first team to finish with a perfect record in this run. Serbia and France could also make it six from six on Monday.
Spain defeated Belgium 59-52 in the other game in Group C, good enough to put the defending EuroBasket champs to 3-3 and second spot in the group.
Iceland move on from Group B
Hungary made it interesting with a tiebreaker win over Iceland on Gameday 5, but there were no alarms and no surprises on Gameday 6. Even though Hungary picked up a win in Italy, they still finished bottom of the group, as Iceland protected their home court against Türkiye.
Martin Hermannsson's 23 points and Tryggvi Hlinason's 13-point, 11-rebound double-double with 4 blocks were enough to pick up an 83-71 win over Ergin Ataman's side, taking both teams to 3-3, and more importantly, to the main draw for FIBA EuroBasket 2025.
FIBA