European Championships U18: last eight set

The quarterfinals of the European Championships U18 have been decided after the round of 16 on Wednesday. In the last eight, Turkey will meet Greece, Spain and France will clash, Italy tackles Lithuania, and Serbia will combat Bosnia on the hardwood.

Through Wednesday, the eight nations battled past their opponents to reach the next round:

Italy looked good in a confident 64-82 win over Russia. Emanuele Trapani and Guglielmo Caruso secured 18 points apiece to pace the Azzurri and the Italians were 21 points ahead going into the fourth quarter. Greece also moved into the European Championships U18 quarters with a 71-65 win over Latvia, it was a close game, but Greece progressed thanks to a 22-14 run in the fourth act. Serbia outlast Germany 71-64 to book its place in the next round. Nikola Miskovic was excellent in the win, collecting 18 points and 9 rebounds. The Serbs led for much of the game and weathered a German rally in the third frame. Lithuania tore apart tournament hosts Slovakia, claiming a massive 79-55 win. It was one-way traffic for long spells as Lithuania outclassed their opponents.

Finland has arguably been the surprise this European Championships U18. However, the team’s tournament came to an end as France won 66-58. Reigning champs France worked hard for the win, building on a one-point halftime lead. Bosnia was too strong for Slovenia and moved forwards with a 65-59 win. The success was propelled by Sani Campara with 20 points, 7 assists and 4 boards. Spain was in cruise control as it took out Montenegro. An emphatic 87-61 victory saw Spain through, mostly on the back of a massive 52-20 advantage through the long break. In the closest game of the day, Turkey edged Ukraine 78-76 to reach the last eight. The teams traded buckets and the lead through and exciting fourth quarter, but Turkey dealt the final blow in the dying seconds.