After losing to Sweden at home on Thursday, Finland beat Estonia 96-67 behind 21 points and 10 rebounds from former Arizona standout and NBA all-star Lauri Markkanen in a FIBA World Cup qualifying game in Tallinn, Estonia.
Lauri Markkanen, left, defends during Finland's win over Estonia in a FIBA World Cup qualifying game in Tallinn, Estonia, on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026.
With two rounds to go in the 2027 qualifiers, Finland is on pace to qualify at 5-3, while Sweden is on the border at 4-4 after losing 84-69 to France on Saturday. In that game, former UA forward Pelle Larsson had 23 points but seven turnovers for Sweden.
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Among the other former UA players during FIBA qualifiers over the weekend, Anthony Dell'Orso had 19 points and hit 3 of 6 3-pointers in Australia's 126-93 win over Jordan in the Asian qualifiers, Kobi Simmons had two points and three assists for Ivory Coast in its 72-66 win over Egypt, Christian Koloko had two points and three rebounds for Cameroon in its 90-67 loss to Guinea while Oumar Ballo did not play for Mali in its 97-71 loss to Senegal.
Contact sports reporter Bruce Pascoe at bpascoe@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @brucepascoe
Bruce Pascoe
Reporter
