Watch | FIBA Pre-Qualifying Tournament Europe | Dutch National Team
ISTANBUL, Turkiye – Playing for his home country of The Netherlands, senior David N’Guessan had a near double-double with 17 points and a team-high 9 rebounds in the Orange Lions’ 91-89 overtime loss to Sweden in the first game of the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament Turkiye in Sinan Erdem Arena on Sunday (August 13).
N’Guessan, a native of De Lier, The Netherlands, finished the game with a team-best +24 efficiency rating, as he scored 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 1-of-1 from 3-point range, and a 4-of-6 effort from the free throw line to go with a team-highs in both rebounds (9) and blocks (3) in nearly 35 minutes of action.
The Dutch led 89-87 with 1:31 left in overtime before a 3-pointer by Sweden with just over a minute to play gave them the lead for good. N’Guessan blocked a shot with 34 seconds left but they could never regain the lead.
N’Guessan was officially announced to the Dutch National Team on Saturday (August 12), joining 12 others for the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament that runs until Sunday, August 20 in Istanbul, Turkiye. He is among four current collegians on the team, including West Virginia’s Jesse Edwards, Cleveland State’s Tristan Enaruna and Nebraska’s Rienk Mast.
N’Guessan and the Orange Lions continue action on Monday (August 14) at 1 a.m., CT/9 a.m., local against Belgium followed by a game against Croatia on Wednesday (August 16) at 1 a.m., CT/9 a.m., local.
The teams with the top-2 records from Group D will advance to the semifinals of the tournament on Friday (August 18), where they will cross and play the top-2 teams from Group C (host Turkiye, Iceland, Bulgaria and Ukraine). The finals are set for Sunday, August 20.
The Netherlands is currently ranked No. 45 in the FIBA World Rankings after making just their second trip to the FIBA EuroBasket Tournament in the last 30 seasons in February 2023.
The Pre-Olympic qualifying tournament in Istanbul is one of five such tournaments around the world, including Tallinn, Estonia and Gliwice, Poland; Damascus, Syria; Lagos, Nigeria and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The winners of the five pre-qualifying tournaments will join 19 nations from the 2023 FIBA World Cup (which includes Team USA) to create a field of 24 nations for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, which are scheduled for June and July 2024. A total of 40 nations will qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
N’Guessan enjoyed a strong first season as a Wildcat in 2022-23, leading the team in field goal percentage at 70.6 percent while averaging 6.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.5 blocks in 19.5 minutes per game as a junior. The Virginia Tech transfer started 11 of the first 12 games before missing the first 6 Big 12 games due to injury. He returned to play in 17 of the last 18 games, including all 4 in the NCAA Tournament, with 7 starts. Among his 7 double-digit scoring games were a pair in the NCAA Tournament highlighted by an 11-point effort vs. Michigan State to advance K-State to the Elite Eight.
The rest of the Wildcats are in the midst of a historic 10-day trip to Israel and Abi Dhabi. The team visited the Dead Sea on Sunday morning(August 13) before arriving to Tel Aviv in the afternoon. They play their first game of the tour on Tuesday (August 15) against the Israeli All-Stars at 11 a.m., CT (7 p.m. local).