Just like our national football team, other sports teams in Azerbaijan are also struggling to bring joy to their fans.
According to Idman.biz, the Azerbaijan basketball team faced their second defeat in the FIBA World Cup 2027 qualifiers after losing 67-91 to Ireland in an away match.
On paper, the teams were not significantly different in strength: Azerbaijan is ranked 44th among European teams (though this ranking was released in August), while Ireland is ranked 39th. Additionally, Azerbaijan's recent victory over Kosovo (87-77) and Ireland's status as the underdog in the group had given some hope for a positive result. However, the five-place difference in rankings became more apparent on the court, with a substantial 24-point margin, signaling a clear difference in strength between the teams.
In the first and second quarters, Azerbaijan struggled to cope under pressure, losing 12-25 and 12-23, respectively. In the third quarter, the game was almost neck-and-neck (20-23), but in the final period, the visitors increased their lead (22-20). Naturally, Azerbaijan's better performance in the final moments can be attributed to Ireland playing more comfortably with their lead.
The Irish Independent noted: “The visitors relied on the naturalized American Jordan Davis (25 points), but were unable to close the gap. Overall, the hosts capitalized on 50% of their chances, while the visitors made use of 32%."
After the game, Irish head coach Mark Keenan, commenting on the match, said, “The opponent is not a bad team, but I think they did not perform very well against our style of play tonight.” So, how much truth is there in Keenan’s statement that “the opponent is not a bad team”?
The 57-year-old coach also revealed the "secret" behind their victory: “The plan was to start well and put pressure on their defense from the beginning. I think we tricked them with that. Their defense wasn’t easy, and we took advantage of that.”
The Azerbaijan basketball team starts the second phase of the group stage with 1 win and 2 losses, totaling 4 points. There are still three games remaining.
In the upcoming game on November 24, Azerbaijan will face Switzerland, the leader of the group. However, Switzerland is not traditionally a basketball powerhouse, having never qualified for the World Cup and currently ranked 32nd in Europe according to the latest FIBA ranking. Despite this, Switzerland is still stronger than Azerbaijan. Will there be a surprise?
Idman.biz
