Ukraine's national basketball team confidently defeated Georgia and advanced to the second stage of qualification for the 2027 World Cup

The men's national basketball team of Ukraine defeated Georgia in the fight to advance to the next round of the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifiers. This was reported by the Basketball Federation of Ukraine, according to UNN. 

The Ukrainian men's national team secured a confident victory over Georgia in Riga in a nominally home match of the 2027 World Cup qualifiers with a score of 95:76 

From the first minutes, Ukraine came out playing with incredible dedication and energy, taking a 17:10 lead. Georgia slightly reduced the deficit in the second half of the first quarter, but Ainars Bagatskis' men maintained their advantage, finishing the quarter 30:27.

The next two quarters were somewhat similar in scenario – a powerful start by Ukraine, building their lead to +17 in the second quarter and +23 in the third, while the opponent managed to slightly cut the deficit in the closing stages.

A key moment of the game was the mutual ejection of Oleksandr Kobzystyi and Marquis Reed in the middle of the second quarter – for a scuffle on the court, they each received two technical fouls. However, while Kobzystyi played 3 minutes and did not score any points, Reed had 18 points at that moment and ultimately remained the top scorer for the Georgian national team, despite playing only 11 minutes.

Ukraine went into the final break with a 15-point lead (75:60) and only solidified it, securing their second victory over Georgia in this qualifying round and their third overall.

The top scorer for Ukraine was Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, who scored 28 points, including 5 three-pointers and a 100% free throw percentage (7/7). Oleksandr Kovliar had four three-pointers and a total of 20 points.

Thanks to the victory, Ukraine advanced early to the second stage of the 2027 World Cup qualifiers, and will conclude the first stage with an away match against Denmark on Sunday, July 5.

Recall 

The Ukrainian youth national team, in the second round of the 2026 European Championship, defeated the Serbian national team and secured their place in the tournament's semifinals.