Sweden has ten players left from the European Championship squad, but is missing essentially the entire starting five from this summer's success in Finland and Latvia, where Sweden advanced from the group stage for the first time.
Miami star Pelle Larsson is of course missing during the NBA season, but centers Simon Birgander and Viktor Gaddefors also leave holes.
Instead, veteran Ludvig Håkanson, who plays for Spanish club Joventut, had to take on a lot of responsibility. He played almost 34 minutes, but couldn't make it the whole way.
Håkanson shot three three-pointers in the first half where Sweden lost 22–18 to 22–27, but was able to come closer at halftime where the Czechs led 47–46.
At the beginning of the third period, Sweden played optimistically and took a four-point lead, but then the Czech Republic took over. The Swedes burned from the free throw line and in the last two minutes of the period, the Czechs scored 10–3 and took an eleven-point lead. In the final period, things got even worse.
Tobias Borg, from Spanish Palencia, was the top scorer with 18 points and Ludvig Håkanson and Olle Lundqvist scored 15 points each.
Sweden will face Slovenia at home in Scandinavium on Monday and the group also includes Estonia. After double matches, the top teams will advance to the second phase of the qualifiers for the 2027 World Cup in Qatar.
