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A quartet of former Huskers are in action this week, as the second round of qualifying is underway for the 2027 FIBA World Cup.
On Sunday, Webster shined in New Zealand's 127-74 win over Syria, nearly posting a double-double off the bench. The former Husker had nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, a team-high nine assists and three rebounds in just 17 minutes of work. On the day, New Zealand shot 61 percent from the field, including 37-of-43 from inside the 3-point arc. In his four appearances since being recalled to the national team, Webster is averaging 8.3 points, 4.5 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game as New Zealand improved to 6-2 in the its group.
Mast and the Netherlands fell just short of an upset, falling 101-99 to Croatia Sunday afternoon. Mast, who made the start at forward, finished with seven points, six boards and a pair of assists, as Croatia rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit. Mast averaged 12.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists during the qualifying window in his first national team appearance since 2023. The Netherlands is now in fifth place in group K after going 0-2 against the group co-leaders this week.
On Thursday, Rienk Mast (Netherlands) and Keisei Tominaga (Japan) took the court for the first of two games during this window.
Mast played well in a 99-83 loss at Germany, the defending FIBA World Cup champions. He finished with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting, five rebounds and an assist in nearly 30 minutes of action.
Tominaga helped Japan to a 106-78 win over Saudi Arabia, finishing with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting and three assists in just 14 minutes of action off the bench. Tominaga has played in all seven of Japan's qualifiers averaging 8.0 ppg to help them to a 5-2 mark after Thursday's win.
On Friday, Tai Webster helped New Zealand to a 93-91 overtime win over Iran, finishing with six points, three rebounds and three assists in 13 minutes of action. Thorir Thorbjarnarson did not dress in Iceland's game against Serbia.
In Europe, the top three teams from each of four groups will qualifying for next Summer's FIBA World Cup in Qatar. In Asia, the top three teams from each group qualify as well as the top fourth place team from groups E and F.