Division B: Portugal and Czechia Deliver Blowouts on Qualifying Round Day 2

The second day of the Qualifying Round produced two lopsided results in the group stage and a mixed bag of classification games on July 9, 2026, with Portugal and Czechia both cruising while Greece needed a third-quarter surge to see off a stubborn Slovakia.
Portugal's dominance continued in Group F, blowing past Bulgaria 94-52 behind Clara Silva (201-C-2006)'s 24-point, 10-rebound performance in just 22 minutes. Silva's early scoring burst turned a brief deficit into a lead Portugal never surrendered, with Carolina Silva (187-C-2008), Gabriela Fernandes (178-F-2006) and Maria Andorinho (185-F-2006, college: St.Peter's) all contributing double figures or near it in support; Gergana Madankova (177-G-2006) did her best to keep Bulgaria competitive with 14 points and five assists. Over in Group E, Czechia routed Ireland 94-65, with Marie Hamzova (180-SG-2007) filling the stat sheet at 19 points, 14 rebounds and six assists, and Emilie Brzonova (181-F/G-2006) adding 20 more. Grace Prenter (173-G-2006) was excellent for Ireland with a game-high 28 points, but it wasn't nearly enough support. Greece's path past Slovakia was tighter, tied at 29-29 in the third quarter before Panagiota Stoligka (173-SG-2006) answered immediately and Foteini Syrpa (181-C-2007)'s 19-point, 5-rebound game helped pull away for a 67-54 win; Alexandra Chovanikova (180-SG-2006) kept Slovakia in it with 21 points and nine rebounds.
The classification bracket delivered its own share of drama and blowouts. Azerbaijan built a 23-point first-quarter lead over Bosnia and Herzegovina and survived a furious late rally to hang on, 75-71, with Salminaz Ramazanli (176-PF-2007) scoring 15 and Leyla Allahverdiyeva (170-F-2008) coming within a whisker of a triple-double (9 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists); Marija Damjanovic (193-C-2007) was extraordinary for Bosnia and Herzegovina with an 18-point, 24-rebound double-double, but it wasn't quite enough. Ukraine cruised past Romania 81-57 behind matching 20-point efforts from Elina Syniakova (188-F-2006, college: Butler CC, KS) and Serafyma Tykha (172-SG-2006), and Switzerland delivered the day's most lopsided result, demolishing Albania 97-42 as Lara Popovic (180-SG-2006) posted 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists; Martina Haxhiu (181-F/C-2006)'s 13-point, 13-rebound double-double was Albania's lone bright spot.