The Croatia national basketball team wrapped up its World Cup 2027 pre-qualifying campaign with a road victory over Denmark. Tomislav Mijatovi\u0107\u2019s squad celebrated a hard-fought 79\u201376 win, finishing the stage with a perfect record and securing their spot in the FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers.<\/p>\n
Veteran guard Toni Naki\u0107 was pleased with the overall result, though not with the performance itself:
\u201cThe most important thing is that we achieved our goal, winning all four games this summer and advancing to the World Cup qualifiers as group leaders. It could have been more convincing, but at the end of the day, it\u2019s two points on the board. The atmosphere in the arena gave Denmark a big push. They probably played above their usual level, took advantage of our poor start, and that\u2019s why it stayed close until the very end.\u201d<\/p>\n
Head coach Tomislav Mijatovi\u0107 first congratulated the team on six straight wins:
\u201cAbove all, sincere congratulations to the guys for their desire, will, and fight. This marks the end of an excellent month-long cycle in which we managed to implement what we wanted, win four official games plus two in preparation, and play at a level that was satisfactory about 70% of the time. What was important today was securing a win on the road, despite the team\u2019s struggles, including injuries, inconsistent play on offense, a 2-for-25 performance from three-point range, and missing 14 free throws. I\u2019m very glad the team showed character, desire, and collective effort in a game that might not have meant much in the standings, but we set a goal to win every game, and we did. Again, big congratulations to the players, staff, medical team, and thanks to the federation for organizing this pre-qualifying cycle so well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Denmark played tough on home court, something Mijatovi\u0107 also acknowledged:
\u201cWe knew Denmark would come out strong and aggressive; we expected that. When you beat a team by a large margin, of course, they want to show fight and energy at home, and in the end, even turn it into a physical battle, which is exactly what happened. But we answered that challenge. It wasn\u2019t pretty; we made countless mistakes, but that\u2019s part of basketball. What makes me happy is seeing our character \u2013 when everything is going against you on the road, and everyone contributes: bench players, those with fewer minutes, even the youngest guys. That\u2019s extremely important.\u201d<\/p>\n
With this win, Croatia finishes first in their group and will move on to the World Cup Qualifiers in November, where they will compete in Group E against Germany, Israel, and Cyprus.<\/p>\n
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