Finland secures a ticket to the WC when Sweden wins over Israel / News
Finland secures a spot in the 2023 FIBA World Cup as they cannot finish below third place in Group J due to head-to-head advantages against Slovenia, Sweden, and a win against Israel.
Yam Madar’s efforts were not enough to give Israel a victory as Sweden celebrated one 95-83 (24-23, 28-15, 18-22, 25-23) team victory in the second round of 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers.
Tobias Borg was the top scorer on the winning list with 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting and perfect 4-for-4 three-point accuracy. He also added 4 rebounds and 3 assists for 25 PIR. Melwin Poltzar added 18 points, 6 assists and 22 PIR points.
Yam Madar led Israel with 27 points on 7-for-12 shooting. Washington Wizards forward Deni Avdija added 13 points and 5 rebounds.
In addition to the team still having hopes of advancing, Sweden’s win earned neighbors Finland a ticket to the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Finland holds head-to-head records over both Slovenia and Sweden from the first round. In addition, the Nordic squad defeated Israel on Wednesday in the second round.
Now, after defeating Estonia tonight, Finland have 7 wins in their pocket and cannot finish below third place which guarantees a place in the upcoming international tournament next year.
This will be only the second appearance in the World Cup for Finland and the first after a nine-year hiatus.
“Many thanks to Sweden for the result we like. At this point we should be extremely proud of the whole group and our collective performance. We are a little ahead of schedule, but maybe that is desirable in such a case,” Finland’s Head Coach Lassi Tuovi spoke after finding out the news. “This is a historic moment in Finnish basketball, and everyone involved should be proud of this.”
“This was something agreed with Sweden. We helped them to the World Cup qualification with a victory over Croatia, and now they helped us to the World Cup,” joked the team’s sporting director Henrik Dettmann.