Unbeaten Spain Closes First Round of Qatar 2027 World Cup Qualifying in Georgia

With 5 wins in as many games, Spain closes the first qualifying round for the 2027 FIBA World Cup this Sunday in Tbilisi against Georgia (17:30, live on Teledeporte and Vamos). The Georgians have also secured their spot in the next round.

After remaining unbeaten with Thursday's victory over Denmark in Madrid (109-81), the Spanish Men's National Team closes the first qualifying round for the 2027 FIBA World Cup this Sunday in Tbilisi. The team coached by Chus Mateo faces the challenge of advancing to the second round with a perfect record to carry into the next six decisive matchdays. The game can be followed live starting at 17:30 on Teledeporte and Vamos (Movistar Plus+).

The Georgians also have their spot secured despite their latest loss, in their visit to Ukraine, where Marcquise Reed (18) and Shengelia (13) were their leading scorers.

In the first-round matchup, played in La Laguna, Spain won by a comfortable margin (90-61). It was the last game with the national team for Giorgi Shermadini.

Once this first phase is completed, the second phase will begin at the end of next August. Spain will be placed in a group with the three highest-ranked teams from the first-round group where Greece, Montenegro, Portugal, and Romania will battle for advancement in this final matchday.

Mateo: "Happy to see the team in great harmony"
The head coach, who already warned at the start of the training camp that every game is important, including Sunday's, has assured that he is "very happy to see the team in great harmony, with excellent chemistry. It's true that we can't train much, that the players come with different fitness levels, but I think we've managed to convey what style of play we want." Regarding the game against Denmark, he believes "we transmitted very well what we've been conveying since the other windows, and I'm proud to be able to do it. I'd like this to continue and for us to keep playing this way." He added that "we need to keep moving forward, improving certain things and not losing this style, which helps us better understand what collective basketball is."

Brizuela: "Finishing 6-0 is important, but we need to stay focused on tomorrow"
For Darío Brizuela, "the game presents itself as difficult, it's not easy to play here against an experienced team with important players. But we come to continue in the same line as the other day and play as a team knowing it will be complicated." He believes that "closing the first round with a 6-0 record would be very important, it would give us a certain advantage for the second phase, it would be a plus, but we need to stay focused on tomorrow and not on what will happen from the next window onwards." The shooting guard from San Sebastián assures that despite having just finished the Liga Endesa season, "I'm enjoying it very much, I love being with these people, enjoying the company of the usual guys and the new ones, of Chus, I'm really enjoying working for him." And on the team's evolution, "a new coach brings new ideas, young players with a lot of flair are also arriving, everything is changing little by little and we remain as veterans. I love seeing how the young guys progress and grow and little by little they're taking my spot..."