Of the many former Arizona players who are involved in FIBA World Cup qualifying games this week, forward Pelle Larsson has made the biggest splash so far.
A three-year player at Arizona through 2023-24 who is now with the Miami Heat, Larsson had 31 points and five rebounds to lead Sweden to an 86-81 win over Lauri Markkanen and Finland in Helsinki on Thursday.
Former Wildcat wing Pelle Larsson celebrates during Sweden's win over Finland in a FIBA World Cup qualifying game on Aug. 27, 2026 in Helsinki.
Markkanen, who played the 2016-17 season at Arizona, had 11 points but was 0 for 9 from 3-point range.
In the Africa qualifiers, there was another matchup of ex-Wildcats on Thursday, too: Kobi Simmons had 17 points and 7 rebounds to help Ivory Coast beat Mali and Oumar Ballo 83-74.
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Simmons played with Markkanen for his lone season at UA in 2016-17, while Ballo, who had nine points and nine rebounds Thursday, came over from Gonzaga with coach Tommy Lloyd in 2021 and stayed through the 2023-24 season.
Meanwhile, Christian Koloko (at UA from 2019-20 through 2021-22) had six points and two rebounds for Cameroon in its 78-62 win over Nigeria.
Several more former Wildcats are scheduled to play in World Cup qualifiers Friday: Azuolas Tubelis (2020-21 through 2022-23) for Lithuania against Turkey in European qualifiers, Nico Mannion (2019-20) for Italy against Bosnia and Herzegovina in European qualifiers and Anthony Dell'Orso (2024-25 and 2025-26) for Australia against Syria in the Asian qualifiers.
Contact sports reporter Bruce Pascoe at bpascoe@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @brucepascoe
Bruce Pascoe
Reporter
