European Championships U18 – Results and Stats – Day 2
Group E
Spain – Italy 78-63
Spain registered the fifth consecutive victory at the U18 European Championship. The reigning champions defeated Italy to improve at 4-0 record in Group E. Ilimane Diop (209-C-95) posted 14 points and 8 rebounds to lead the Spanish team. Italy fell at 1-3 record after the loss. Spain eked out a 17:16 lead after ten minutes. Italy bounced back and stole a 39:38 halftime advantage. Spain were back in the drivers seat in the third quarter. The defending champions held their opponents to 11 points to take a 5-point lead into the fourth term 55:50. Spain outgunned the Azzurri 23:13 in the final quarter to seal a confident win at the end. Guillermo Hernangomez (209-C-94) posted 12 points, while Oriol Pauli added 9 points for Spain. Simone Fontecchio (197-SF-95) answered with 15 points for Italy. Amedeo Tessitori had 14 points in the loss.
Ukraine – Greece 61-66
Greece edge Ukraine in Vilnius at the U18 European Championship in Division A. The Greek side improved to 1-3 record in Group E after a narrow 66:61 win. Ukraine meanwhile fell at 0-4 record. The teams exchanged the lead several times in the opening period and then Eleftherios Bochoridis (196-SG-94) scored for 16:12. Andrii Kharchynskyi toed the game early in the second frame, while Sergiy Zagreba gave Ukraine 21:19 advantage. Greece meanwhile won the rest of the half and grabbed 35:30 at the halftime. Both sides scored 13 points each in the third quarter as the difference remained in the court. Another 18 points from each side brought the final result on the board. Dimitrios Agravanis (208-F-94, agency: FCM) brought the final points for the winners. Dimitrios Agravanis paced all the winners with 20 points and Eleftherios Bochoridis posted 15. Diamantis Slaftsakis delivered 13, while Konstantinos Gontikas had 6. Yevgen Sakhniuk (201-PF-95) replied with 18 points in the losing effort and Andrii Kharchynskyi poured in 11. Sergiy Zagreba ended up with 10 points in defeat.
Serbia – Lithuania 68-77
Lithuania celebrated the fifth straight win at the U18 European Championship. They defeated Serbia for 4-0 record on top of qualifying round Group E. Justas Tamulis (194-SF-94, agency: Beo Basket) stepped up with 18 points to lead the winners. Serbia enjoyed a 22:19 lead ten minutes into the game. Lithuania cut the deficit in the second quarter. They got within a single point at halftime 35:36. The hosts surged ahead in the third quarter. The Baltic team posted a 55:51 lead at the final intermission. Lithuania fired 22 points in the fourth quarter to seal the winning outcome at the end. Marius Grigonis (198-F-94) finished with 12 points, while Jokubas Gintvainis posted 10 points for the home team. Nikola Jankovic (205-PF-94) answered with 18 points for Serbia. Doko Salic netted 17 points in the loss.
Group F
Latvia – Croatia 62-82
Croatia stayed untamed at the U18 European Championship. They recorded the fifth straight win at the tournament in the expense of hosting Latvia. Dario Saric (208-F-94) was instrumental in the victory tallying 16 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists. Croatia started strong taking a 21:12 lead after ten minutes. The visitors extended the lead in the second frame. They cleared off to a 17-point halftime advantage. Croatia poured in 26 points in the third term to take a massive 23-point lead before the fourth frame. Latvia could not threaten the margin and had to surrender at the end. Mislav Brzoja (196-F/G-94) finished with 15 points, while Dominik Mavra and Tomislav Gabric had 9 points each in the win. Elvis Endzels (180-PG-94) answered with 14 points for Latvia. Davis Geks netted 12 points in the loss.
Turkey – Slovenia 88-85
Turkey clinched the first win at the Second Stage of U18 European Championship. They held off Slovenia for 1-3 record in Group F. Slovenia slipped at 1-3 record after the loss. Kenan Sipahi (198-PG-95) was unstoppable for Turkey scoring 35 points. Turkey fired 25 points in the first quarter and grabbed a 6-point lead at the first break. Slovenia erased the deficit in the second quarter. They drew things level at 46 at the interval. Slovenia surged ahead in the third quarter. They secured a 4-point lead heading into the fourth frame. But Turkey used a 9:0 run midway through the period to take an 80:77 lead. Tayfun Erulku (193-SG-94) and Kenan Sipahi gave Turkey an 87:82 lead and they hung on to escape with a tough win at the end. Tayfun Erulku finished with 12 points for the winners. Gregor Hrovat (196-G-94) answered with 25 points for Slovenia. Matic Rebec netted 18 points in the loss.
Bulgaria – Russia 53-56
Russia beat Bulgaria to tie both records at the U18 European Championship. The Russian team needed 56:53 for 2-2 record in Group F. The first two quarters were similar in the game but had a different content. Bulgaria started the game with 19-8, but lost the second frame 9-18. The teams swapped the lead regularly in the second half but in the end it was Russia’s ability to capitalize on points from turnovers that got them home, grabbing 15 compared to Russia’s nine. The scored was 42:42 with 9 minutes to go before the final push. Viktor Kashin scored for 55:50 and Stanislav Ilnitskiy (200-PF-94) scored the last points in the game for the winning side. Stanislav Ilnitskiy top-scored for the winners with 15 points and Oleg Alferov (193-SG-94) had 12. Viktor Kashin and Igor Kanygin poured in 11 points each in a win. Kris Minkov (198-SF-94) finished the game with 16 points in the losing effort and Aleksandar Vezenkov added 9.
Group G
Poland – Denmark 52-59
Denmark celebrated the first win in the classification round of U18 European Championship. They defeated Polish counterparts for 1-1 record in Group G. Rasmus Larsen (212-C-94) stepped up with 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the winners. Poland slipped at 0-2 record after the loss. Poland led by five points after ten minutes 19:14. They stretched the margin in the second quarter. Poland enjoyed a comfortable 15-point lead at halftime 37:22. But Denmark turned things around in the second half. They narrowed the gap at 8-point mark at the final intermission. Denmark opened the final frame on a 10:1 run to take the lead. Soon the Scandinavian team extended the lead to 5 points 57:52. Gertz then converted two free throws and sealed the victory for Denmark. Peter Moeller (190-PG-94) provided 11 points, while Marc Fabricius added 10 points and 8 rebounds in the victory. Damian Jeszke (202-PF-95) answered with 11 points for Poland. Kacper Radwanski and Jakub Garbacz had 9 points each in the loss.
France – Germany 57-51
France registered the second straight win at the classification round of U18 European Championship. Les Bleus defeated Germany for 2-0 record on top of Group G. Kevin Harley (197-G-94) and Mouhammadou Jaiteh (206-C-94) finished with 18 points each to lead the winners. They also teamed up for 18 rebounds in the win. Germany led by as many as 8 points after ten minutes 20:12. But France cut the deficit in the second quarter. Les Bleus arrived at halftime down by just 4 points 27:31. France held Germany to 9 points in the third quarter to pull ahead. They ensured a 5-point lead heading into the fourth term. France kept a tight grip on the lead in the final frame. They held their opponents to 11 points and celebrated an important win. Antony Labanca (191-SF-94) finished with 7 points for the winning team. Gavin Schilling (205-PF-95) answered with 11 points for Germany. Malik Mueller (188-G-94) had 10 points in the loss.