Ukrainian basketball players led by Latvian coach Ainaras Bagatskis experienced a loss in Iceland on Saturday in the second round of the 2023 World Cup (World Cup) qualification game.
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In the match of Group L, Ukraine lost to Iceland in overtime with 88:91 (19:14, 22:22, 14:27, 25:17, 8:11).
After Svyatoslav Myhailyuk’s two-pointer, Ukraine took a 19-7 advantage, leading until midway through the third quarter, when the Icelanders took the lead, taking their biggest lead at 63-52 on Alvar Fridriksson’s long shot and never allowing the visitors to take the lead in regulation.
One minute and 16 seconds before the end of regular time, Volodymyrs Herun scored a two-point shot, and Myhailiuk put the Ukrainians in the lead in overtime – 82:80. However, the hosts were better in the rest of the time, after Bogdan Bliznuk intercepted the ball eight seconds before the end of the match, three seconds before the final whistle, the ball flew past the home team’s basket after a shot by Ivan Tkachenko.
Mykhailiuk scored 19 points, six rebounds and assists, as well as five fouls for the Ukrainian national team. “VEF Riga” player Vitaly Zotov, who finished the match with five points, scored 12 points, Vyacheslav Bobrov collected 11 points and six rebounds, while Artyom Pustoviy, Bliznuk, who also had eight rebounds, and Tkachenko, who had nine rebounds, scored ten points each. rebounds.
In Iceland, Fridriksson scored 27 points, Kristofer Acoks scored 14 points, Sigtrigur Bjornsson scored 13.
In this group, on Saturday, the Netherlands lost to the Spanish basketball players at home with 64:86 (24:17, 8:23, 18:28, 14:18), and Italy with 91:84 (25:19, 18:19, 23:28, 25:18) won a victory over Georgia.
After six rounds, Spain and Italy have five wins each, Iceland has four, Georgia – three, Ukraine has won one, and the Netherlands is fighting without a win.
The top three teams in the group will qualify for the finals.
Two more selection windows will be in November and February 2023.
The final tournament will take place in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia from August 25 to September 10, 2023.
