(L-R) Clancy Rugg, Luxembourg; Shirzad Shirzadov, Azerbaijan; Credit: Ali Sahib, Chronicle.lu

On Thursday 2 July 2026, Luxembourg's men's national basketball team suffered their third defeat in the 2029 FIBA EuroBasket pre-qualifiers after losing to Azerbaijan in front of 1,250 spectators at the Coque in Luxembourg-Kirchberg.

Coach Ken Diederich's team went into the game second in Group A, having recorded two wins and two defeats, while Azerbaijan had won just one of their four previous matches.

The starting five featured Malcolm Kreps, Alex Laurent, Philippe Gutenkauf, Ben Kovac and Clancy Rugg.

Azerbaijan led for much of the opening quarter and, although Luxembourg levelled the score at 15-15, Tahir Bakhshiyev's side finished the first ten minutes with a 19-15 advantage.

At the start of the second quarter, baskets from Max Logelin and David Rocha put Luxembourg in front. The lead changed hands several times in an evenly contested period before Ben Kovac knocked down two three-pointers in the final minute, allowing the hosts to take a 42-39 lead into half-time.

After the break, Azerbaijan briefly regained the lead before Luxembourg responded and moved back in front midway through the third quarter. Philippe Gutenkauf scored five points during the hosts' run, while Ben Kovac added another three-pointer.

However, Luxembourg were unable to maintain their advantage. Orhan Haciyev levelled the score at 55-55, before Shirzad Shirzadov put Azerbaijan back in front with around thirty seconds remaining in the quarter.

Reflecting on the decisive spell after the break, Luxembourg head coach Ken Diederich said: "We were up three points, so we said we could play better. We didn't play better. We came out in the second half worse. We turned the ball over. We had eight turnovers in the third quarter and, at this level, that costs you every time. So we lost the game in the third quarter."

Luxembourg entered the final quarter trailing by two points but quickly drew level through baskets from Malcolm Krepsand Dorian Grosber. The visitors responded with a 67-61 lead midway through the period before Philippe Gutenkaufhit a three-pointer and Dorian Grosber reduced the deficit to a single point.

Azerbaijan held its nerve in the closing stages. With 25 seconds remaining, Ben Kovac converted one of two free throws to make it 72-74. After both teams exchanged further points from the free-throw line, Luxembourg had one final opportunity to force overtime. However, a late foul on Akbar Mammadov ended the hosts' hopes, as Azerbaijan secured a 76-74 victory.

Ben Kovac finished as Luxembourg's top scorer with fifteen points and also collected eight rebounds.

"We had too many turnovers in the second half. At the end, a couple of calls didn't go our way and I think they proved decisive. We should have had three free throws on the last play, but we put ourselves in that position by trailing. You have to play with the lead, and we didn't," Ken Diederich told Chronicle.lu.

The defeat complicated Luxembourg's hopes of progressing ahead of the final round of the 2029 FIBA EuroBasket pre-qualifiers. The Red Lions will host group leaders North Macedonia, who have won all five of their matches, at 16:00 on Sunday 5 July 2026 at the Coque. One hour earlier, Azerbaijan, now level with Luxembourg on seven points, will host bottom-placed Ireland.