We Go to Vienna Weakened, and Lithuania Shows What Happens When a Federation Does Not Listen

Austria fell in Cyprus, and a virus hit the Macedonian camp three days before Vienna

The first opponent of the Macedonian basketball team in the second cycle of pre-qualifying for EuroBasket 2029 opened the group with a defeat. Austria lost away in Cyprus 77:72, which is good news for us in the table and bad news for anyone who thought Austria was a step already taken. For Cyprus, Filippos Tigkas scored 25 points, Stefanos Tigkas 15 and Paschialis 13. For the Austrians, Mbemba with 19 and Kapic with 18 were the best. Except that before the departure for Vienna, where the game is set for 30 August, a virus swept through the Macedonian camp and took down half the squad. No result on another court helps when your own players cannot train.

Zeqiri: "This is the strongest Macedonia" - a sentence that needs confirming on the court

Returning to the national team, Leyson Zeqiri says the squad is complete, that Moses Wright has joined them too, and that we are now the strongest we can be. In the first phase Macedonia won every game - 6:0 - and Zeqiri does not hide that the run brings confidence. But he immediately corrects himself: "this is a different group now, everything is new, we should not go back to what was." That is the more sensible half of the statement. A group you come through with a perfect record was usually a weaker group, and Austria on their home floor in Vienna is a different story from any of the previous ones. A few days remain for video analysis. Until then, "the strongest Macedonia" is a claim, not a result.

Wembanyama ran over Slovenia, and Doncic watched it from home

Victor Wembanyama played his first official match for France since the 2024 Olympics and immediately took the side to 92:67 against Slovenia in qualifying for the 2027 World Cup. The 22-year-old San Antonio centre finished with 22 points and nine rebounds in 21 minutes, going 5/5 from two-point range and 9/10 from the free-throw line. Maxime Raynaud and Matthew Strazel added 13 each. Slovenia, led by Krampelj and Glas with 10 points apiece, played without Luka Doncic, who announced back in June that he was skipping this window for family reasons - he wants to be at home with his daughters. France top Group L with 6-1. Only three teams go through from each group, which means the national team season has suddenly become much tighter.

Valanciunas said out loud what everyone is whispering: Lithuanian basketball is in crisis

Lithuania's captain Jonas Valanciunas spoke out about the crisis in Lithuanian basketball and directly questioned the position of federation president Mindaugas Balciunas. Lithuania entered the second round with a record of just 3-3 from a group with Italy, Iceland and Great Britain, and now sit fourth in Group J behind Turkey (6-0), Italy (5-1) and Serbia (4-2). With only three places available for the World Cup in Qatar, the Lithuanians need five wins from the remaining six games against Turkey, Serbia and Bosnia. Valanciunas, who from 2007 to 2024 did not miss a single official FIBA tournament, says he stepped back this time partly because of the move back to Lithuania and his first season at Zalgiris, but also because of organisational problems around the national team. When a captain with that biography starts talking about management instead of basketball, the problem stopped being a sporting one a long time ago.

Farahan at MZT: "I feel at home" - and he accepts being a leader straight away

Noah Farahan, an American guard, is one of the new names at MZT Skopje and is expected to run the offence in the 2026/2027 season. He says Skopje welcomed him with open arms, that he spends most of his time in Aerodrom and that the atmosphere at the club gives him motivation. The team, in his view, plays fast basketball with good ball movement. The most serious challenge for the Macedonian champions is the FIBA Europe Cup, a competition every team enters with maximum fight and where, as he puts it, there is no room to relax. Asked whether he is ready to be a leader, the answer was one sentence: "Yes, absolutely." A conversation like this and a sentence like this open almost every season at MZT. The measuring starts in November, with the first game in the Europe Cup.