Ukraine Hands Spain First Loss of FIBA World Cup Qualifiers

 One of Europe’s Titans received its first loss of the 2019 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers, as Ukraine stunned Spain 76-65 in Group I action on Saturday. At 6-1 Spain remains the leader of the group and are still the favorites to advance from the second stage as the top team in Group I. For Ukraine, this was a crucial win. In order to move on from this stacked group, they will need similar momentum against some very tough opponents. The win pushes their record to 4-3, one game behind Latvia and Turkey (5-2).

“The fact that I scored some important points is the work of the whole team. The Spanish team was not ready for our aggressive defensive and in attacking strategies. The victory over Spain is a historic moment for Ukraine,” Ukrainian playmaker Denys Lukashov said in a commentary to the Basketball Federation of Ukraine.

Los Angeles Lakers’ rookie Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk exploded for 22 points to lead Ukraine to victory. He did his thing on both ends of the floor, recording five steals to stifle the Spaniards.

Spain struggled to get their offense online, shooting 35.9% from the field. Joaquin Colom and Sergio Rodriguez led Spain with 15 and 12 points, respectively. They could barely buy their buckets, combining for 9-of-26 shooting from the floor. They were missing the services of Marc Gasol, who skipped the qualifiers to prepare for the Memphis Grizzlies’ training camp.

Here are the other results from Saturday’s games:

Latvia 85 – 74 Slovenia

Turkey 79 – 69 Montenegro

Netherlands 59 – 74 Hungary

Croatia 83 – 84 Lithuania

Italy 101 – 82 Poland