MUNICH (Germany) - Switzerland became the second team to grab a spot in the Second Round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers by remaining perfect, while Norway rallied to set up a crucial showdown with Romania.
They joined Austria into the next phase of the Pre-Qualifiers with the remaining two spots to be decided on the final gameday of the First Round.
Switzerland rolled past Ireland 85-54 at home to remain perfect in Group A with a 5-0 record.
The hosts took the first quarter 30-16 and then finished off their opponents by allowing just 9 points in the third quarter. Boris Mbala led the way with 19 points, Selim Fofana collected 17 points and 10 assists and Dylan Ducommun chipped in 16 points for the winners. Neal Quinn paced Ireland with 18 points.
Meanwhile, Kosovo improved to 2-3 in Group A thanks to a hard-fought 81-79 home win over Azerbaijan. The biggest lead of the game was nine points as Kosovo held the guests to just a single point in the final two minutes.
Mikaile Tmusic tallied 21 points as Kosovo's top weapon with Divine Myles adding 16 points and 6 assists. Donta Hall collected 21 points and 16 rebounds for Azerbaijan, who fell to 1-4.
Norway stayed alive in Group B as they used a big third quarter to beat Luxembourg 68-59 for a 2-1 record. That sets up a big showdown on Sunday between Norway and Romania, who will be hosting the game also holding a 2-1 mark.
Harald Frey finished as top scorer on 27 points with Chris-Ebou Ndow added 17 points and 9 rebounds in the victory, while Luxembourg dropped to 1-3 despite Oliver Vujakovic's 12 points.
Armenia remained in the running for the best-ranked runner-up with a 91-70 win in Albania in Group C.
Chris Jones was unstoppable with 34 points - the highest mark of the First Round - on 7 three-pointers and 8 assists and Andre Spight added 22 points as Armenia improved to 2-2. Albania remain winless at 0-3 even though Daniel Lekndreaj scored 17 points.
The three group winners advance alongside the best-ranked runner-up from across the three groups - with results against the fourth-placed side in Group A removed for a fair comparison.
Sunday, February 23 games: Azerbaijan vs Ireland Austria vs Albania Romania vs Norway Kosovo vs Switzerland
FIBA