Ireland beat Kosovo 91-85 in FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Pre-Qualifiers

Ireland made it two wins from two in November, with a 91-85 win over Kosovo on Sunday in their FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers fixture at the National Basketball Arena. It keeps Ireland second in Group A with a 2-2 record and still in contention to qualify for the next round, ahead of two away fixtures against group leaders Switzerland and Azerbaijan in February.

Kosovo got on the scoresheet first, but Ireland led the game throughout thereafter. Back- to-back threes from John Carroll got Ireland off the mark, to lead 6-2 in the third minute. Neal Quinn, who had a game-high 23 points and 13 points, had a bright scoring period early on, an attempted layup from Paul Dick was emphatically dispatched by him on the rebound to get the crowd going. The centre added a layup and slotted three free throws to help put Ireland 15-2 up with six minutes gone.

Layups from under the basket by Jordan Blount and Roy Downey and a Rapolas Buivydas three had Ireland 22-2 ahead with two minutes to go in the first. Kosovo had some joy from the three point line late in the quarter, through Gezim Morina and Mikaile Tmusic, to help reduce the deficit to 24-12 at the end of the first quarter. 

A corner three from captain Dardan Berisha and jump shot from Morina saw Kosovo get within six points, trailing 27-21, three minutes into the second quarter. Ireland called a timeout and returned with a Sean Flood three. A Quinn hook shot and Carroll layup followed not long afterwards, Ireland were 34-23 ahead. 

Séan Flood coming up with the goods once again 🤌

Q3 05:30 | Ireland 53-43 Kosovo#IRLKOS 🇮🇪🇽🇰 || #GreenMeansGo ☘️pic.twitter.com/CbBaPAZ8ER

— Basketball Ireland (@BballIrl) November 24, 2024

Kosovo continued to have joy from long range, back-to-back threes from Malcolm Armstead and Rron Ukaj made it an eight-point game, 37-29, with three and a half minutes to go. Dick’s layup had Ireland 42-33 ahead, but four points from Lis Shoshi saw a scoreline 42-37 to Ireland at half-time.

Ireland got off to the perfect start to the third quarter, Flood’s long range three among their points, as they led 47-37. Kosovo responded with a Shoshi dunk.

Flood, who’d scored 10 points in the opening half, landed another from distance, his third from the three point line at that stage. Meanwhile Neal Quinn continued to be dominant under the basket, he gobbled up Blount’s attempted three to dispatch on the rebound, Ireland were 53-41 up three minutes in. Kosovo kept themselves in the contest thanks to threes from Armstead and Berisha, either side of Downey’s layup, it was 55-49 just after the midpoint. 

 Neal Quinn in action against Kosovo

Five points from Buivydas brought Ireland to the 60-point mark, 60-49. A nicely fashioned three from Conor Quinn saw 67-56 in front, with a little over a minute to go. The final minute of the quarter saw everything go in Ireland’s favour - a driving layup from Carroll, Kosovo then lost Armstead after he picked up his fifth foul, while it finished with a buzzer beating three from Flood, his arms outstretched in celebration as he brought  his personal tally to 21 points and Ireland were 73-58 in front.

A seven-point run by Kosovo was snapped by a dunk from Neal Quinn, Ireland leading 77-67 two minutes into the fourth quarter. Quinn remained dominant in the paint, grabbing four more vital points, Ireland 81-68 up. Berisha continued to drive his side on, a long range three and three free throws - either side of Downey’s jump shot - and the deficit was cut to nine, 83-74.

Kosovo struggled to contain Neal Quinn he landed another layup, next up was Dick from the three point line and Ireland had stretched their advantage to 90-76 with three minutes to go. But Kosovo weren’t done, they finished with a nine point run completed by a Rron Ukaj dunk, but it was Ireland’s day, winning 91-85. 

Ireland head coach Mark Keenan said: “Delighted, we have won two out of two now going into February and now it’s all about then. When have we ever won two games back-to-back here?! I think you’d have to look back to the FIBA European Championship for Small Countries, so it’s a great week for us, for the team, at the level we played. I think tonight we got to the highest level we played, but maybe not for as long as we did on Thursday (against Azerbaijan), and Kosovo put it up to us as well, they are tough.” 

Ireland’s next games are away against Group A leaders Switzerland on February 20^th, followed by a trip to Azerbaijan on February 23^rd. 

“They will be very tough (Switzerland & Azerbaijan). The lads will be up for it, big time. Next thing we think about will be Switzerland, that’s the next focus - how we can get the win over there," Keenan added.

The group winners and the best runner-up from three groups advance to the second round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifying.

Quarter Scores:

Q1: 24-12, Q2: 19-25 Q3: 30-21, Q4: 18-27

Game Scores:

Q1: 24-12, Q2: 43-37, Q3: 73-58, Q4: 91-85

Ireland:

Adrian O’Sullivan (DNP), Roy Downey (8), Rapolas Buivydas (8), Sean Flood (21), Conor Quinn (5), Jordan Blount (5), John Carroll (12), James Gormley (DNP), Paul Dick (9), Matt Treacy (0),Neal Quinn (23), Aidan Harris-Igiehon (0).

Kosovo:

Malcolm Armstead (10), Dardan Kapiti (0), Gezim Morina (9),Mikaile Tmusic (7), Arti Hajdari (0), Arian Callakaj (9), Dardan Berisha (15), Rron Ukaj (10), Meriton Ismaili (2), Muhamedali Janjeva (9), Lis Shoshi (14), Erjon Kastrati (DNP).