Poland women beat Israel 75:64 in EuroBasket 2027 qualifying, Montenegro next

Poland’s women’s national basketball team beat Israel 75:64 in Riga on Wednesday 11 November in the first game of the second round of EuroBasket 2027 qualifying. Poland trailed after three quarters but won the last one 26:9. The next game in the group is on Saturday 14 November in Podgorica against Montenegro.

How the game in Riga went

According to the Polish Basketball Federation (PZKosz), Israel plays its home games on neutral ground, and for basketball national teams Latvia was chosen. Poland started well, and Klaudia Wnorowska had 10 points by the middle of the first quarter. Turnovers then became a problem. After the break Israel pulled ahead 46:36, and at one point Poland had hit only 3 of 25 three-point attempts, as PZKosz reported.

The fourth quarter decided the game. Five straight points from Wnorowska put Poland back in front, and a three-pointer from Malina Piasecka, who was making her debut in an official senior national team game, took the wind out of the opponent’s sails. Wnorowska finished with 21 points, Anna Makurat scored 11, and Piasecka and Kamila Borkowska had 8 each. Israel’s top scorer was Alyssa Baron with 19 points.

What the coach said

Head coach Karol Kowalewski said after the game that there is no point pretending it was a beautiful match. He added that the trip to the arena took much longer than planned, so the staff had to appeal to FIBA for a longer warm-up, which in his view knocked the team out of rhythm. From late in the third quarter Poland began doing what the staff had wanted from the start. Borkowska said the team won the fourth quarter with good defence and easy points.

Group I and the rest of the schedule

In Group I Poland face Turkey, Israel and Montenegro. 24 national teams are taking part in the second round, and the two best teams from each group will qualify for EuroBasket. Results from the first round, which Poland finished with 6 wins and no defeats, do not carry over. The aim for the Polish team is a return to the European Championship after a 12 year gap, as they last played in it in 2015. The 2027 tournament will be held in Belgium, Finland, Lithuania and Sweden.

In the other group game on Wednesday, Turkey beat Montenegro 79:62. After the first round of games Turkey and Poland each have one win and 2 points, while Israel and Montenegro each have one defeat and 1 point.

According to PZKosz, the game against Montenegro on 14 November will be shown on TVP Sport, and on 17 November Poland host Turkey at Arena Gorzów. FIBA has scheduled the return games for 10 February (Israel), 13 February (Montenegro) and 16 February 2027 (Turkey), with times not yet announced.

Sources (checked 13.11.2026): PZKosz: Israel v Poland match report (11.11.2026); PZKosz: post-match comments (12.11.2026); PZKosz: second round preview (11.11.2026); PZKosz: squad and schedule (09.11.2026); FIBA: Women’s EuroBasket 2027 qualifiers, results and schedule; FIBA: second round standings.

Illustration generated with AI.