Slovakia surge past Romania; Bulgaria bounce back for first win

MUNICH (Germany) - Bulgaria, Denmark, Slovakia and Croatia emerged victorious on Gameday 2 of the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Pre-Qualifiers Third Round, as three of them secured their first win, while Croatia moved to 2-0.

Bulgaria opened the day with an 83-71 win over Austria to move to 1-1 in Group J. The home side grabbed the lead midway through the second quarter and never looked back.

Aleks Simeonov and Pavlin Ivanov starred for the victors, as Simeonov recorded a double-double of 29 points and 11 rebounds along with 3 steals and 3 blocks on 5-of-11 shooting from three-point range, while Ivanov had 25 points, 4 assists and 2 rebounds - also connecting on 5-of-11 three-pointers. 

Denmark and Slovakia opened their Third Round campaigns with wins over Switzerland and Romania in Groups H and I, respectively.

Denmark picked up a 60-46 wire-to-wire win, limiting Switzerland to just 24.6 percent shooting from the field. Iffe Lundberg scored a game-high 14 points and also grabbed 8 rebounds for the victors, while teammate Bakary Dibba finished with 8 points and 10 rebounds for an efficiency of 17 off the bench.

Slovakia and Romania, meanwhile, were neck and neck throughout most of the game and it was the hosts that took a three-point lead with 4:43 left to go, but Slovakia closed the game on an 11-4 run to seal their 69-65 victory.

Vladimir Brodziansky scored an impressive 32 points for Slovakia along with 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. The 29-year-old shot 12-of-23 from the field including 4-of-8 from three-point range.

The final game of the day saw Croatia ease past Luxembourg in Group G, 98-62. The hosts had five players score in double figures with Borna Kapusta leading the way with 16 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds off the bench.

Danko Brankovic contributed in multiple areas with 9 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks, going a perfect 4-of-4 from the field, while Roko Prkacin added 16 points and 5 rebounds on 8-of-11 from the field.

As a team, Croatia shot 61.3 percent overall, got 59 points from their bench and dished out 29 assists as they become the first team to move to 2-0.

The action continues on July 26 with four more games as the Third Round reaches the halfway mark.

FIBA