Ireland's EuroBasket qualification hopes end with defeat to North Macedonia

Sean Flood played a captain’s role with 14 points and 9 assists. Pic: Ben Brady/Inpho

Ireland’s chances of progression to the next round of FIBA EuroBasket 2029 qualifying ended in Skopje on Thursday night, as unbeaten Group A top seeds North Macedonia ran out 77-56 winners on a humid night at Lazar Lecic Sports Hall.

Sam Alajiki had a double-double of a game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds, but big performances from Andrej Jakimovski and Viktor Efremovski proved to be too much for the visitors. Sean Flood played a captain’s role with 14 points and 9 assists, while Ben Stevens added eight points from the post on his competitive debut for Ireland.

“There’s a reason North Macedonia are 4-0 and top of the group,” said head coach Michael Bree. “They gained 17 extra possessions, mostly through their offensive rebounding, so we’ll have to look back at the film to identify where we can be better there for sure.” “Azerbaijan have picked up a big win for their programme tonight in Luxembourg, so they’ll be coming into Sunday full of confidence and we’ll need to turn the page quickly and refocus the minds to meet another physical challenge in Baku,” added Bree.

North Macedonia started the scoring off with two free throws by Viktor Efremovski, only for Ireland to answer with back-to-back threes by Sean Flood and Sam Alajiki. Ireland reached four fouls in four minutes, giving up free-throws to the dangerous Andrej Jakimovski. Flood and Alajiki stepped up for deep three-pointers again before Ben Stevens lay the ball up to put Ireland ahead, 12-14.

With three minutes to go in the first, Vojdan Stojanovski sunk a three for North Macedonia, before Flood answered with two free-throws down the other end. After securing two offensive rebounds, Vojdan Stojanovski buried a three with Jakimovski following up with a three of his own to put North Macedonia ahead at the end of the first, 23-16.

Jakimovski didn’t look like he was going to slow down in the second, hitting a mid-range two for the opening score of the quarter. Max Amadasun replied with some good hands to catch Flood’s pass and lay-up for two. Scores from Toma Stojanoski and Stojan Gjuroski widened the home sides lead to eleven at the midway point of the quarter.

Like clockwork, Alaijiki stepped up for another big three and converted an and-one free throw to narrow the deficit. A big defensive display from Leeroy Odiahi kept North Macedonia at bay, and another three from Alajiki just before the break brought Ireland back within eleven, with the half-time score being 38-27.

North Macedonia started the third where they left off, with an opening three points for Andrej Jakimovski. Tiernan Stynes then drove along the baseline to feed Ben Stevens for a slam dunk to get the away crowd off their feet. North Macedonia began to dominate the rebounds, leading them to take a twelve-point lead after five minutes.

After a passionate timeout speech from Michael Bree, Flood found himself under the basket to convert a lay-up and Stynes floated the ball over his defender for another two. North Macedonia’s Viktor Tashovski drove to the rim for the final basket of the third quarter, to take their lead to 59-37, leaving Ireland a steep hill to climb in the fourth.

Adrian O’Sullivan and Amadasun clawed five points back for Ireland, but a Luka Stojanovski three put North Macedonia right back up. Two free-throws from Victor Okojie and an Alajiki block above the rim decreased the deficit after three minutes.

Ireland looked to have picked up their pace with another Alajiki three to bring his tally to 20. Floods two free-throws narrowed the scoreline to 19, only for Viktor Efremovski to sink a three in Ireland’s end. With under three minutes left Alajiki’s block led to a Sean Flood fast-break lay-up, but North Macedonia closed the game out in style, winning by 77-56.

Next up for Ireland is an away fixture against Azerbaijan, having previously fell short by one point, losing 75-76 in Dublin.

IRELAND: Max Amadasun, Rapolas Buivydas, Sean Flood, Sean Fitzpatrick, Sam Alajiki, Declan Gbinigie, Aivaras Uosis, Ben Stevens (8), Adrian O’Sullivan, Tiernan Stynes, Leeroy Odiahi, Victor Okojie.

NM: Victor Tashovski, Marko Lukanoski, Petar Boshaleski, Dewayne Stewart, Valjmir Kakruki, Vojdan Stojanovski, Stojan Gjuroski, Andrej Jakimovski, Viktor Efremovski, Toma Stojanoski, Luka Stojanovski, Pavel Ivanov.