European Basketball Qualifiers: Czechs and Norwegians go to overtime, big nights for Bayern's Macedonian and Vezenkov

The first game window of the second pre-qualifying round for the 2029 European Basketball Championship has concluded, with Great Britain's national team standing out for its strong form.

Great Britain sweeps two games

Great Britain crushed Switzerland 110:75 in Fribourg before beating Slovakia 97:72 in Newcastle. In the first match, Joshua Ojedu and Tosan Evbuomwan each scored around 20 points. For Slovakia, Vladimir Brodziansky posted 23 points and 14 rebounds.

Setbacks for Austria and Czechia

Austria, Latvia's rival in World Cup qualifying, suffered two losses — first falling at home to Cyprus 72:77, where Filippos Tigkas scored 25 points, and then losing more heavily to North Macedonia, 59:91. In that game, Euroleague players shone: Bayern Munich guard Nenad Dimitrijevic recorded 15 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists, while Olimpia Milano's Moses Wright added 12 points and nine rebounds.

Czechia lost to Belgium 81:92, with Vincent Kesteloot scoring 22 points for the winners. Against Norway, the Czechs led comfortably after the first half (57:40) but faded in the second, eventually winning in overtime, 108:97. Norway's Harald Frey scored 31 points with six assists, while the hosts were led by Martin Peterka (22 points, seven rebounds) and Martin Svoboda (21 points, eight rebounds).

Strong showing from Vezenkov

Romania beat Denmark 89:78 in Farum, with Daron Russell scoring 34 points and six assists, but then lost at home to Bulgaria 86:103. In that match, Euroleague champion Alexander Vezenkov stood out with 36 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

The second qualifying round continues until February 2027, with the top teams advancing toward the main qualification stage.