Bagatskis' Ukraine beats Georgia in World Cup qualifier in Riga
The Ukrainian men's basketball team, coached by Latvian Ainars Bagatskis, defeated Georgia 95-76 in a FIBA World Cup qualifier held in Riga on Thursday.
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Ukraine's men's national basketball team, under the guidance of Latvian head coach Ainars Bagatskis, secured a 95-76 victory (30-27, 19-14, 26-19, 20-16) over Georgia in a 2027 FIBA World Cup qualifying match on Thursday, July 2, 2026, in Riga.
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk led the winners with 28 points, while Oleksandr Kovliar added 20 points and six assists. Dmytro Skapintsev recorded a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
For Georgia, Marquis Reed was the top scorer with 18 points, Tornike Shengelia contributed 13 points, and Duda Sanadze chipped in with 10 points.
In Group A, Spain leads with a perfect 4-0 record, Ukraine improved to 3-2, Georgia fell to 2-3, and Denmark remains winless at 0-4.
Ukraine previously defeated Denmark (88-71) and Georgia (92-79) in the qualifiers but lost twice to Spain (66-86 and 64-78). In pre-qualifying, they topped their group ahead of Switzerland and Slovakia with a 3-1 record.
The 2027 FIBA World Cup is scheduled to take place in Qatar from August 27 to September 12. Host nation Qatar has already qualified but will participate in qualifying tournaments. European teams will compete for 12 spots in the final tournament, Asia and Oceania for seven, Africa for five, and the Americas for seven.
