Eight straight wins - the longest run since independence

The Macedonian men's basketball team has eight wins from eight official matches. The run began on 20 August 2025 with 82:75 against Hungary, continued with a perfect 6-0 in the first phase of the pre-qualifiers for EuroBasket 2029, and ended with 91:59 in Vienna against Austria. According to FIBA's archive, that is the longest sequence of consecutive wins by a Macedonian senior side since 1991. The head coach is Josep Maria Berrocal. Home courts and away courts, different windows, different squads - and the same result eight times. Basketball here rarely gets good news; this one is real.

Eight wins, and one position lower on the FIBA list

And now the part that does not fit the celebration. After the fourth qualifying window, Macedonia sits 65th with 237.7 points - one place lower than in the previous ranking. Austria, the team beaten in Vienna by thirty-two points, is 66th. At the top are the USA with 952.3 points, Germany with 877.4 and France with 870.9, having overtaken Serbia. So the scoring system is such that eight consecutive wins move nothing, because the opponents are ranked lower. What is the point of a ranking that does not register the best run in a national team's history?

Dimitrijević gets a teammate with an NBA ring

Greek side Aris has signed Thanasis Antetokounmpo on a two-year deal with an option for a third season, which means Nenad Dimitrijević will share a dressing room with Giannis's brother. Thanasis is 34, with 255 games for the Milwaukee Bucks and an NBA title from 2021, won alongside his brother. In Europe he played for Andorra and Panathinaikos, taking two Greek titles with the latter, and he has been part of the Greek national team since 2016. For Dimitrijević this means a stronger side around him - and that is the only currency a Macedonian basketball player abroad needs.

Jokić scores eight points and Serbia wins anyway

Serbia beat Italy 76:64 away in qualifying for the 2027 World Cup, with Nikola Jokić finishing on a modest eight points and eight rebounds. The best performer was Marko Gudurić with 19 points. In the stands sat Erik Spoelstra, the Miami coach, there to watch his two players face each other - Nikola Jović for Serbia, Simone Fontecchio for Italy. Serbia now stand 6-2 and second in Group J with four matches left. Only the top three go to Qatar. When even Jokić has a bad day and the team still wins, that says more about the squad than about him.

FIBA has let the Russians back - but only individually, and only for now

Following the decision of the International Olympic Committee, FIBA has lifted the restrictions on Russian and Belarusian players, coaches, referees and delegates - with immediate effect. What has not been lifted is the participation of national teams and clubs; FIBA's Central Board will decide on that in December 2026, including the question of an adequate anti-doping programme. The IOC suspended the exclusion of the Russian Olympic Committee on 7 July. So the individual is clear, the institution is not yet. That is a distinction sports federations use when they want to open a door without admitting they have opened it.