Czech Basketball Team Blows a 19-Point Lead But Still Grinds Out Overtime Win Over Norway

The Czech national basketball team beat Norway 108:97 after overtime in a pre-qualifying round match for Eurobasket 2029, played in Prague. The Czechs led by as much as 19 points, nearly let the advantage slip away in the closing stages, but held on to secure the win in the extra period.

The match was tense from the very first minutes and looked nothing like Thursday's clash with Belgium in Ostend — both in terms of intensity and the quality of the hosts' play. Norway, who had to fight their way through the first pre-qualifying round (three wins, one loss), put up stubborn resistance from the outset, and the opening quarter ended in a near-tie.

Double-Digit Lead and a Third-Quarter Collapse

By the second quarter the Czechs led 25:23, before reeling off a 12-0 run to move ahead by double digits. The Norwegian side — unexpectedly coached by a woman, Dane Susie Heede-Andersen — refused to buckle, but the Czechs' combination play kept working against their opponents' defence. By the break, the gap had widened to 17 points.

The men's game also drew the attention of the Czech women's national team, who fly out to the World Cup in Berlin on Monday — twelve players joined the fans in watching the hosts play. After the break, the Czech lead grew to a peak of 19 points, but Norway then began methodically clawing their way back. With three minutes left in the third quarter, the gap had shrunk to ten points, prompting coach Luboš Bartoň to call a timeout. Things only got worse from there: two consecutive Czech turnovers on offence let Norway close to within five points.

A Dramatic Finish and an Overtime Win

The final ten minutes began with Czechia leading 66:62. The game increasingly came down to the free-throw line, and Norway repeatedly trimmed the deficit to a single point. With four and a half minutes remaining, a three-pointer from Sjølund let the visitors level the score. Then, with exactly 200 seconds left on the clock, Norway took the lead for the first time in the second half thanks to a successful and-one from Ndow.

Czech captain Peterka answered with a three-pointer, but the game was clearly heading for a nerve-wracking finish. Peterka put the Czechs back in front three times, only for Norway to level the score each time, before a Sjølund three with 32 seconds left even put the visitors ahead 88:87. After a Czech turnover from Sedlák and Norwegian free throws stretched the gap to three points, a clutch three-pointer from Balint forced overtime.

In the extra period, the Czechs again opened with a three from Balint, followed by a made free throw from Sedlák. The overtime itself was choppy, packed with free throws, but the decisive moment came with a four-point burst the Czechs put together right at the start of the extra period. Norway's game fell apart after that, and Czechia claimed the win 108:97, an 11-point margin of victory.

Czechia's top performers were Peterka (22 points), Martin Svoboda (21) and Balint (16), while Norway's best were Frey (31) and Ndow (23). Luboš Bartoň's side will play their next pre-qualifying match at home on 29 November against Belgium, needing to overturn an 11-point deficit in point differential after Thursday's loss. Only the group winner earns direct passage to Eurobasket 2029 qualifying — the other two teams will face a third pre-qualifying round next summer.

Source: sport.cz