Ireland 91 Azerbaijan 67
Jordan Blount of Ireland during the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers first round match against Azerbaijan at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, Dublin. Photo by Tyler Miller/Sportsfile
Ireland have boosted their World Cup 2027 qualification hopes with this 91-67 victory over Azerbaijan which lifts them into third in their four-nation group.
Captain Seán Flood scored 27 points here to help his side’s campaign, with the group’s first-placed team or best second-placed team advancing to the next round of pre-qualifiers.
They will still need a victory again in the National Basketball Arena against Kosovo on Sunday and results from February’s trips to Switzerland and Baku to progress.
But Ireland can take heart from this performance. They were quickest out of the traps and were soon up 8-0 up before the visitors called time out, but that failed to stop Flood.
The Dubliner scored 10 points by the end of the first quarter to power his side into a 25-12 lead, and was ably assisted by Jordan Blount.
The Corkman proved crucial in finding opportunities for an energetic Ireland and set up six opening-quarter scores.
Jordan Blount of Ireland during the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers first round match against Azerbaijan at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, Dublin. Photo by Tyler Miller/Sportsfile
Flood and Blount continued to be key to Ireland’s dominance in the second period but the hosts could soon afford to ease off the pedal in the face of little resistance.
This visitors relied on their naturalised American Jordan Davis (who hit 25 points) for scores, but it did little to bridge the gap which stood at 48-25 at half-time.
Mark Keenan’s men ultimately converted 50pc of their chances to the visitors’ 32pc, and seemed to be scoring for fun when Neal Quinn scored a dunk just before the midway point.
Azerbaijan looked very much like a team that had travelled 5,000km to be here and it seemed a long road back with 20 minutes remaining – much to the disappointment of their sizable group of supporters in Tallaght.
The 5.0pm midweek tip-off and poor weather may have reduced supporter numbers in the arena, but Azerbaijan’s poor performance dampened this contest.
However the evening belonged to Ireland, and head coach Keenan will hope for more of the same against Kosovo on Sunday.
“That was the plan. Get off to a good start, put the pressure on their defence right from the get go and I think that shuck them,” Keenan said.
“Defensively they got nothing easy and that set us in motion. I mean overall it’s unbelievable. I’m delighted for the lads.
“They’re not a bad team but I think they didn’t look too good tonight because of the way we played.”